THE  AMAZING 

ARGENT  IN  ill 

JOHN  FOSTER  FRASER  I 


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rTJeRARV    \ 

I  CALIFORNIA  ^ 

\      SAN  OiEGO       ; 


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in  2007  with  funding  from 

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THE    AMAZING    ARGENTINE 


THE    MAYO    AVENUE.    BUENOS    AIRES. 


THE   AMAZING 

ARGENTINE 

A  NEW  LAND  OF  ENTERPRISE 


BY 

JOHN   FOSTER  ERASER 


WITH    FORTY-EIGHT   PLATBS 
FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


NEW    YORK 

FUNK  AND  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

1.  The  Invaders 

2.  Some  Aspects  of  Buenos  Aires     . 

3.  Round  and  About  the  Capital     . 

4.  Railway  Development  in  the  Republic 

5.  Settlement  on  the  Land      .         . 

6.  Argentina's  Part  in  Feeding  the  World 

7.  The  Constitution  and  Government 

8.  Characteristics  of  the  Country 

9.  "  Cabbages  and  Kings  " 

10.  Live  Stock  in  the  Republic 

11.  The  Story  of  the  Railways 

12.  ROSARIO  .... 

13.  Cordoba  and  its  Attractions 

14.  Bahia  Blanca  and  the  Country 

15.  The  Future  of  Agriculture 

16.  Mendoza         .... 

17.  A  Trip  into  the  Andes 

18.  The  Camp       .... 

19.  A  Mixed  Grill 


Beyond 


PAOK 

1 

21 

31 

43 

52 

63 

72 

89 

101 

116 

134 

154 

158 

176 

186 

199 

212 

223 

235 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

20.  tucuman  and  the  suqar  industry 

21.  The  Industrial  Side  of  the  Republic 

22.  The  North-East  Country      . 

23.  Prospects  and  Problems 

Index  .    •    •    •    .    .    • 


PAOB 

248 
257 
265 
270 
281 


LIST   OF   PLATES 

The  Mayo  Avenue,  Buenos  Aires  . 


Plaza  Del  Congreso,  Buenos  Aires 

The  Plaza  Hotel,  Buenos  Aires 

The  Tigre,  Buenos  Aires  Rowing  Ciub 

Lola  Mora  Fountain,  Buenos  Aires 

La  Recoleta  .... 

The  Government  Building,  La  Plata 

The  Southern  Station  at  La  Plata 

In  the  Great  Square  at  La  Plata  . 

Statue  presented  to  Argentina  by  the  French  Com 
munity  on  the  occasion  of  the  Centenary  of  Inde 
pendence         .... 


Frontispiece 


FACING  PAOB 

20 


Central  Argentine  Railway  Company's  Grain 
tors  at  Buenos  Aires 

Latest  Type  of  Passenger  Locomotive    . 

Latest  Tjrpe  of  Dining  Car    . 

View  of  Grazing  Lands  .         . 

A  Drinking  Place  on  an  Estancia  .         . 


Eleva 


22 
26 
32 
36 
38 
40 
40 


42 

46 
50 
50 
54 
54 


LIST    OF    PLATES 


Vll 
WAcina  PACK 


Branding  Calves  on  an  Estancia 

A  Group  of  Gauchos     . 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies 

The  Kindergarten  at  Mendoza 

Ox-Carts  in  the  Argentine 

A  Typical  Argentine  Public  Park 

A  Regatta  near  Buenos  Aires 

A  Fine  Argentine  Bridge 

Breaking-in  Horses  in  the  Argentine 

Interior  of  Dining  Car,  Central  Argentine  Railway 

The  Statue  of  Christ  on  the  Argentina- Chili  Frontier 

Plaza  Constitucion  Station  at  Buenos  Aires     . 

The  Rosario  Express,  Central  Argentine  Railway 

On  the  Way  to  Market  in  Cordoba 

The  Ninth  Green  at  Alta  Gracia    . 

In  the  Courtyard  of  the  Monastery  at  Alta  Gracia 

The  Hotel  at  Alta  Gracia 

A  Typical  House  in  Cordoba  Province 

A  Street  in  Bahia  Blanca 

The  Elevators  at  Ingeniero  White 

Plaza  Riverdavia,  Bahia  Blanca     . 

A  Bahia  Blanca  Bank  . 

The  Town  Hall  at  Bahia  Blanca   . 

Conveying  Alfalfa  to  a  Railway  Station 

The  Entrance  to  the  Park  at  Mendoza 

The  Promenade  in  Mendoza  Park  . 

The  Grape  Harvest  in  the  Suburbs  of  Mendoza 

In  a  Mendoza  Bodega 


60 
64 
74 
78 
90 
100 
110 
114 
120 
134 
148 
150 
156 
162 
166 
166 
170 
174 
176 
180 
182 
184 
184 
194 
200 
202 
204 
208 


viii  LIST   OF   PLATES 

rACIMO  PAGB 

"  Chico  "  in  Charge 212 

A  Cornef  of  the  English  Qub  at  Mendoza     .         .212 

The  Hotel  at  Inca 218 

The  Inca  Bridge  in  the  Andes       ....  220 

General  View  of  an  Estancia          ....  224 

A  Gaudtio  and  his  Family 226 

La  Rambla,  Mar  Del  Plata 234 

The  E^lanade,  Mar  Del  Plata       ....  238 

A  Historic   Building :     "  Casa    Independencia,"    at 

Tucuman 250 

The  Statue  of  San  Martin  at  Tucuman.          .         .  256 

The  Longest  Girder  Bridge  in  the  Republic,  near 

Santa  F6    , 266 


THE  AMAZING  ARGENTINE 


CHAPTER   I 

THEINVADERS 

It  was  on  a  boat  which  was  laden  with  bananas  and 
running  from  Colon,  on  the  Istranus  of  Panama,  to 
New  York.  -y 

The  steward  called  me  at  fluwn.  "MHe  thought 
I  was  mad  because  I  stood  yin  pyja^nas  without 
apparent  heed  of  the  mirkm  drizzl^  Beyond  the 
sad  waters  there  was  little,  M  see  \  but  a  low-lying 
and  dreary  island  mthfp  ni^ladcnoly  lighthouse. 
No  vegetation  brighte^hd  the  ^ene.  There  was  no 
gorgeous  sunrise.  There  was  iwthing  but  a  lump  of 
barrenness  heavir)Igfsput  of  rfte  sea.  But  this  was 
the  island  of  San  ^Ivador,  \he  western  land  which 
Columbus  first  touched  ^hen  he  sailed  to  find  the 
Indies.  \   ^  y\ 

There  ar^^riow  n^r  pffle  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  peopl^  o|  EuropsaK  liescent  in  the  Americas. 
And  a/  little  glow  c^ne  into  my  imagination  that 
rain-swep^  morning  when  I  felt  I  was  the  only 
traveller  on  the  boat  who  had  crawled  forth  to 
gaze  at  San  Salvador.  I  tried  to  picture  what 
thoughts  must  have  crowded  the  mind  of  Columbus 


2  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

when  he  sighted  this  shore.  He  never  knew  what 
he  had  discovered  for  Spain.  He  could  never  have 
dreamt  he  was  the  first  in  the  greatest  invasion 
the  world  has  ever  witnessed. 

A  year  later  I  was  on  an  Atlantic  liner.  The 
fo'c'sle  was  thronged  with  poor  Spaniards  from 
Vigo  and  poor  Portuguese  from  Lisbon.  In  the 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic  I  had  watched  them 
in  the  steerage — ^tawny-visaged,  easygoing  men,  and 
broad-set,  figureless  women,  sprawling,  gossiping, 
drowsing.  To  the  accompaniment  of  an  accordion 
they  lifted  their  voices  in  song  on  the  balmy, 
starlit  evenings  whilst  the  ship  churned  through 
the  tropical  seas. 

Another  misty  morning  and  I  climbed  on  deck. 
Saloon  passengers  were  tucked  in  their  bunks.  But 
all  the  steerage  had  turned  out  and  were  crowding 
the  foredecks,  and  were  gazing  at  a  dim  strip  of 
land  and  watching  a  blinking  Ught.  The  land  was 
the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  the  Hght  was  the  harbour 
of  Pernambuco,  which  means  "the  Door  of  Hell." 

The  immigrants  raised  a  long-drawn  shout  of  joy. 
They  hailed  Latin  America.  There  was  the  country 
of  which  they  had  heard  so  much.  They  had  broken 
with  the  Old  World.  Four  hundred  years  ago  their 
ancestors  came  across  these  seas  'with  eyes  greedy 
for  gold.  Now  they  came,  not  to  snatch  gold  from 
temples  or  to  terrorise  the  natives  into  showing 
where  the  metal  could  be  found,  but  to  work  on  sugar 
plantations,  to  nurture  the  coffee  plant,  to  rear 
bananas,  to  do  the  humble  work  in  the  building  of 


THE   INVADERS  3 

towns  and  the  construction  of  railways,  to  toil  in 
the  jungles,  to  sit  in  the  saddle  and  round  up  cattle 
on  the  prairies.  They  had  come  to  the  New  World 
to  get  gold  by  industry. 

How  much  we  talk  and  write  about  the  enterprise 
and  colonising  power  of  the  Teutonic  races,  and  how 
prone  we  are  to  dismiss  the  Latin  races  as  effete 
and  played  out !  But  our  generalisations  will  not 
bear  examination.  The  spirit  of  adventure  cannot 
have  left  Italy  and  Spain  and  Portugal.  Every 
year  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  sail  from 
those  countries  across  the  Atlantic. 

We  speak  of  North  America  as  Teutonic — made 
prosperous  by  the  stock  of  northern  Europe — and 
South  America  as  Spanish.  Latin  America,  however, 
does  not  all  lie  south  of  the  Panama  Canal.  We 
must  begin  to  reckon  it  from  the  territory  line  which 
separates  the  United  States  from  Mexico.  South- 
wards from  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande  the  Latin 
tongue  is  spoken,  chiefly  Spanish,  but  with  much 
Portuguese  in  Brazil,  and  Italian  in  places  right 
down,  through  the  Torrid  Zone,  the  heavy  tropics, 
reeking  with  luxuriant  vegetation,  to  the  bleak  and 
rocky,  inhospitable  Tierra  del  Fuego. 

There  are  millions  of  Latins.  They  have  set  up 
half  a  score  of  Republican  governments.  The  wealthy 
world  slowly  and  then  impetuously  realised  the 
possibilities  of  this  strangely  diversified  region. 
Untold  gold  has  been  poured  forth  to  develop  it 
and  get  quick  return. 

It  is  not  stories  of  treasure  which  bring  a  glint 


4  THE   AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

into  the  eye  of  modern  men.  It  is  enterprise  and 
development  which  appeal.  There  are  cattle  to  be 
reared  on  the  ranches  of  Mexico ;  there  is  rubber  in 
Peru ;  there  are  nitrates  and  fabulous  mineral 
wealth  in  Chili  and  the  neighbouring  lands  ;  there 
are  cotton  and  sugar  and  coffee  in  the  mighty  sweep 
of  Brazil ;  there  are  the  illimitable  wheat  areas  of 
Argentina,  and  cattle  rearing  and  the  giant  possi- 
bilities in  supplying  Europe  with  frozen  meat ;  there 
is  the  opening  up  of  immense  areas  by  networks  of 
railroads. 

"  The  stuff  is  there ;  it  has  only  to  be  got," 
says  the  man  who  knows  and  talks  with  the  fire  of 
enthusiasm. 

South  America  is  not  the  land  of  the  future.  It  is 
the  land  of  to-day.  Nowhere  in  the  world  is  the 
speculator,  the  investor,  more  busy  than  in  Latin 
America.  The  tales  told  by  the  first  Spaniards  are 
baby  talk  to  the  stories  told  to-day  by  those  who 
have  been  and  seen  and  are  fascinated.  Of  course 
it  is  overdone.  Of  course  there  is  exaggeration.  Of 
course  some  of  the  jewels  in  El  Dorado  are  useless 
stones.  Of  course  some  of  the  caves  of  Aladdin  are 
found  empty.  But  what  the  modern  world  ranks 
as  precious  is  in  abundance. 

I  like  to  conjure  a  contrast  between  the  little 
barques  of  a  few  hundred  tonnage  bobbing  on  unknown 
seas  with  the  big  fifteen-thousand  tonners  which  make 
their  ports  of  call  according  to  time-table.  The  early 
invaders  went  into  the  unknown,  crept  along  un- 
mapped coasts,  battled  with  savages,  and  died  like 


THE    INVADERS  5 

flies  before  the  scourge  of  fever.  The  whole  story 
of  the  conquest  and  settlement  of  the  Americas  is 
one  of  slow  victory  through  a  mist  of  tragedy.  The 
invaders  of  other  days  left  their  native  lands  with 
little  hope  to  return.  The  invaders  of  to-day  set 
forth  waving  an  au  revoir  to  their  friends  on  the 
dock  side. 

The  man  with  the  flimsiest  imagination  can 
think  of  the  tiny  craft,  ill-lit,  ill-furnished,  with 
scurvy^providing  food,  running  before  the  trade 
winds,  lolling  with  idle  sails  in  the  doldrums,  and 
with  uncertainty  as  constant  companion.  To-day 
the  huge  vessels  scorn  the  tides.  Aflame  with  electric 
light  they  press  through  the  dusk,  and  the  ship's 
orchestra  plays  ragtime  music.  You  cross  the 
Equator  to  the  tune  of  a  Gaiety  light  opera.  Sultry 
afternoons  are  relieved  with  exhilarating  deck  sports. 
The  warmth  of  the  dinner  hour  is  softened  by  the 
whirl  of  electric  fans.  In  the  evening  a  space  on 
deck  is  enclosed  and  hung  with  the  flags  of  all  the 
nations,  and  dancers  in  fancy  dress  whirl  blithely  on 
the  powdered  floor.  These  are  the  circumstances  of 
the  modern  invasion.  The  journey  is  a  holiday 
with  nothing  of  grim  adventure  about  it. 

What  Latin  America  means  to-day  is  told  in  the 
personalities  of  the  passengers.  There  are  the  rich 
Argentines,  after  six  months  in  Europe,  returning  to 
Buenos  Aires,  occupying  the  cabins  de  luxe.  They 
offer  you  the  information  how  much  they  are  paying, 
contribute  largely  to  the  sports  fund,  and  their 
ladies  dress  with  frank  display.     Whether  Spanish 


6  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

or  English  they  are  proud  of  the  name  of  Argentine, 
and  never  weary  telling  of  the  progress  of  their  country. 
They  have  open  contempt  for  their  Portuguese 
neighbours  in  Brazil.  The  wealthy  Brazilian  men, 
swarthy  and  fat  and  bejewelled,  do  not  join  the  deck 
games,  but,  with  cigar  between  lips,  saunter  the  decks, 
leering  at  every  woman  with  a  passable  counten- 
ance. The  Argentines  thank  God  there  is  no  nigger 
blood  in  their  veins.  The  Brazilians  retaliate  they 
could  buy  the  Argentines  up.  Care  must  be  taken 
not  to  mix  the  two  nationalities  at  the  ship's  tables. 
Each  nation  sports  its  own  flag.  Sometimes  rivalry 
threatens  tragedy. 

There  is  the  Englishman  "  with  interests  in 
Argentina "  going  out  to  look  after  his  property, 
frequently  an  estancia,  or  ranch,  purchased  when 
land  was  cheap,  and  before  the  boom  came.  Now  a 
railway  cuts  through  his  property,  and  it  has  increased 
seventy-fold  in  value.  Sometimes  he  mentions 
drought ;  occasionally  he  shudders  at  the  mention 
of  locusts.  But  he  recalls  the  state  of  things  when 
he  went  out  thirty  or  forty  years  ago  "  with  not 
much  more  than  a  bob,"  and  now  he  has  a  fortune 
made  out  of  meat  shipped  to  Europe,  and  his  only 
regret  seems  to  be  the  iniquitous  amount  of  death 
duties  which  will  have  to  be  paid  by  his  heirs. 

"  Argentina  is  not  what  it  was,"  he  tells  you. 
That  means  the  winning  of  a  fortime  is  going  to  be 
increasingly  harder  to  this  and  subsequent  genera- 
tions. But  he  is  a  fine  type  of  Englishman,  for  he 
went  forth  before  South  America  had  grown  beyond 


THE    INVADERS  7 

its  monthly  revolution,  when  the  continent  chiefly 
bred  restlessness  amongst  the  Spanish  settlers,  and 
when  life  and  prosperity  was  a  gamble.  He  has 
come  through  the  fire.  Foresight,  daring,  and  good 
luck  have  swung  him,  as  they  have  swung  thousands 
of  others,  into  affluence.  He  has  "  retired."  He 
lives  at  home  in  Belgravia,  and  gives  fine  dinner 
parties.  But  he  keeps  an  eye  on  Argentine  stock, 
and  when  you  encounter  him  in  the  club  he 
repeats  that  "Argentina   is   not  what  it  was,  but 

still "  and  then  he  makes  you  wish  you  could 

place  your  hand  on  some  of  the  plums  that 
remain. 

There  is  the  rich  Argentine  who  shows  what  he 
is  made  of  by  insisting  upon  everybody  in  the  smoking- 
room  drinking  champagne  at  his  expense — and  he 
is  uncomplimentary  if  anybody  deliberately  refuses 
his  hospitality.  There  is  the  man  who  hires  a  band 
to  play  to  him  during  the  voyage.  There  is  the 
delicate  lady  who  has  a  special  cow  on  board  so  that 
she  may  be  sure  of  fresh  milk.  The  boat  carries  a 
cow  so  that  the  children  may  have  milk.  The  charge 
per  pint  for  the  milk  is  high.  "  Why,"  said  one 
passenger  when  he  heard  what  the  price  was,  "  I 
think  I  will  give  my  children  champagne ;  it  will 
be  cheaper." 

British  gold  has  flowed  like  water  into  South 
America  to  make  the  dormant  region  fruitful.  British 
interests  are  colossal.  The  United  States  has  not 
taken  much  of  a  hand  in  development,  partly  because 
the  Latins  do  not  love  their  northern  neighbours. 


8  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

and  partly  because  the  financiers  of  the  States  have 
been  sufficiently  occupied  in  their  own  country. 
Three  hundred  million  British  pounds  sterling  has 
been  invested  in  Argentine  railway  and  tramway 
companies,  and  there  are  on  board  men  who  manage 
the  lines — ^tall,  stalwart,  clear-skinned  Englishmen, 
with  cool  nerve  and  steady  eye. 

There  are  the  big  estancia  men,  proud  and 
ambitious,  who  pay  enormous  prices  for  famous 
race-horses  and  get  the  best  breeding  stock  from 
home  in  cattle  and  sheep,  no  matter  what  com- 
petition forces  the  price  up  to.  There  are  shrewd 
men  going  out  on  behalf  of  syndicates  to  throw  their 
eyes  round  the  country  and  scent  out  possibilities 
for  money-making  on  the  grand  scale.  In  the  free 
talk  of  the  smoking-room  they  speak  with  vague- 
ness of  what  their  special  mission  is.  There  are  the 
men  who  have  been  charged  to  take  control  of  city 
development  schemes — for  all  ports,  towns,  and 
cities  in  South  America  are  crazy  for  development, 
and  are  piling  their  backs  with  debt  to  achieve  their 
desires.  There  are  the  men  who  represent  English 
firms  who  are  intent  on  extending  their  connections 
or  in  establishing  branches.  There  are  engineers, 
with  jobs  in  the  far  interior,  proceeding  to  fill  five- 
year  contracts.  There  are  young  bank  clerks,  flushed 
with  increased  salary,  exchanging  London  for  a 
pampa  town  and  scarcely  realising  they  will  find 
living  three  times  as  expensive  as  at  Bromley.  There 
are  the  men  who  laughingly  acknowledge  they  have 
no  direct  mission  except  that  they  intend  to  see  what 


THE    INVADERS  9 

they  can  pick  up.  But  they  are  mostly  a  good  brand 
of  Briton,  well  set,  and  with  courage  in  the  veins. 
And  when  one  remembers  the  growing  Latin  popu- 
lation, and  listens  to  captivating  explanations  about 
potentialities  and  hears  what  has  been  accom- 
plished— more  wonderful  in  the  making  of  cities 
than  a  tale  out  of  the  Thousand  and  One  Nights — 
there  is  the  fact  in  the  background  that  all  this 
continent  must  long  have  continued  to  lie  undeveloped 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  constant  and  confident 
inflow  of  British  money. 

Beyond  the  rails  are  the  second-class  passengers, 
folk  of  humbler  aim,  but  going  to  play  their  part 
in  the  land  of  adventure.  But,  above  all,  are  the 
third  class,  the  steerage — few  British  here — travelling 
to  South  America  with  little  but  hope  and  muscle 
to  do  the  labourer's  part.  It  is  labour  the  country 
needs  to-day  more  than  capital.  In  the  spring  of 
the  southern  hemisphere  the  Atlantic  is  trailed  with 
ships  packed  with  Italians,  Spaniards,  and  Portu- 
guese. The  continent  swallows  them.  They  are  men 
of  courage,  or  they  would  never  have  gone  forth. 
They  take  with  them  their  fiery  Latin  temperament 
and  fierce  political,  frequently  anarchist  views.  The 
native  Indians  are  mostly  too  cow-like  to  be  of  much 
use  in  industry.  The  millions  of  negroes  in  tropical 
Brazil  are  too  lazy  to  be  relied  upon.  Labour  is  the 
need,  the  ever-pressing  need.  Emissaries  are  busy  in 
southern  Europe  booming  South  America  and  filling 
the  boats  which  sail  from  Lisbon  and  Vigo  and 
Genoa — chiefly  from  Genoa,   for  the   Italian  is  the 


10  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

ideal  immigrant  for  a  warm  clime.  He  is  indus- 
trious, sober,  frugal.  » 

All  the  towns  along  the  South  American  coast- 
line have  futures.  They  talk  about  the  future, 
always  the  future,  and  are  preparing  for  it.  Swung 
in  a  basket  from  the  deck  of  the  liner,  I  boarded  a 
tug  and  went  ashore  at  Pemambuco.  The  buildings 
which  stood  were  decrepit,  as  though  erected  by 
the  original  Portuguese,  like  their  ramshackle  homes 
on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean,  and  they  had  done 
nothing  to  them  since  except  an  occasional  smear 
of  pink,  blue  or  yellow  colour-wash.  Most  of  the  place 
was  in  ruins ;  whole  streets  were  literally  choked 
with  d6bris,  suggesting  there  had  been  a  frightful 
earthquake,  or  that  a  revolutionary  episode  had 
perpetrated  dire  havoc.  In  fact,  Pemambuco  was 
in  the  throes  of  improvement.  The  first  necessity 
of  all  these  South  American  towns  is  not  a  system 
of  drainage  but  an  Avenida — a  wide  main  thorough- 
fare with  bedizened  buildings  on  either  side,  and 
cafes  and  bands  and  electric  lights  and  motor-cars 
and  a  theatre.  They  have  begun  with  a  theatre. 
But  the  ways  of  Western  civilisation  have  travelled 
so  far  because,  instead  of  drama  and  opera  being 
presented,  the  theatre  is  devoted  to  kinema  enter- 
tainments. 

As  though  cleared  with  a  himdred  cannon,  there 
is  a  way  right  through  the  town ;  this  is  where  the 
Avenida  is  to  be.  Open  matchbox  tramcars,  drawn 
by  weedy  mules,  rumble  over  uneven  metals.  The 
next  time,  however,  I  visit  Pemambuco  electric  cars 


THE    INVADERS  ii 

will  whiz  along  the  roads.  There  are  no  cabs  or 
carriages,  ;even  of  ancient  pattern,  to  be  hired  ;  but 
there  are  plenty  of  motor-cars.  There  is  a  break- 
water built  on  a  coral  reef ;  yet  huge  harbour  works 
are  in  progress,  and  before  long  liners  instead  of 
lying  outside  will  be  fastened  to  the  dock  side.  There 
are  big  shops  where  you  can  buy  most  things,  includ- 
ing the  inevitable  picture  post  cards,  though  you  pay 
twopence  each  for  post  cards  of  a  kind  which  you 
can  buy  for  two  a  penny  at  home.  I  paid  Is.  8d. 
for  a  drink  for  which  no  hotel  at  home  would  have 
charged  me  more  than  6d.  The  neighbourhood  is 
rich  in  vegetation,  but  potatoes  and  fruits  are  imported 
from  Portugal.  The  people  are  town  proud.  They 
are  proud  of  Brazil.  The  Brazilian  flag,  with  its 
yellow  ground  and  star-spangled  blue  globe  in  the 
centre,  waves  everywhere. 

The  next  day  we  were  at  Bahia,  picturesquely 
reclining  on  a  wooded  hill.  It  used  to  be  the  great 
port  in  the  slave  trade,  and  most  of  the  inhabitants 
are  negroes.  Indeed,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
most  of  the  population  are  negroes,  or  negro  Indians, 
or  negro  Portuguese,  or  a  mixture  of  all  three.  How- 
ever, it  is  only  the  Portuguese,  a  mere  handful  in  the 
total,  who  exercise  political  influence  in  the  country. 
On  the  boat  came  many  Bahians.  All  down  the 
coast,  whilst  we  were  losing  the  European  invaders, 
we  were  taking  on  board  and  losing  Brazilians.  Most 
of  them  were  podgy,  and  an  inky  tinge  on  their 
skins  indicated  there  was  mixture  in  their  blood. 

The  healthy  sports  which  had  entertained  the 


12  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

English  travellers  on  the  Equator  were  things  of  the 
past.  There  was  a  new  sport,  and  it  was  played  in 
the  smoking-room  all  day  long  and  far  into  the  night, 
when  most  of  us  had  gone  to  bed.  The  rattle  of  the 
dice-box  never  ceased.  Gambling  was  in  the  veins, 
and  the  English  sovereign  was  constantly  shuffled 
from  hand  to  hand  on  the  green  baize  tables.  There 
was  baccarat,  first  for  low  stakes  and  then  for  high. 
There  were  two  glib  Yankee-negro-Spaniards  who 
had  such  luck  that  spectators  shrugged  shoulders 
and  exchanged  glances.  In  a  single  game  they 
netted  £150,  and  one  young  Englishman  was  a  loser 
by  £80. 

From  gambling  at  the  tables  one  turned  to  talk- 
ing about  gambling  in  the  country.  The  enormous 
liabilities  to  foreign  countries  are  all  incurred  in  a 
great  gamble  that  the  hinterlands  will  yield  produce 
which  will  pay  for  all  and  leave  massive  surpluses. 
The  coffee  trade  of  Brazil  is  immense.  But  all 
merchants  do  not  make  their  incomes  by  watching 
and  nursing  the  market.  That  is  too  slow.  Trans- 
actions are  decided  quite  as  often  by  the  throw  of 
the  dice  as  by  negotiation  and  bargaining.  Reck- 
less, far  removed  from  business  principles,  all  this 
is ;  but  it  bespeaks  a  buoyancy  of  belief  that,  not- 
withstanding the  lapse  of  luck,  there  is  a  bottomless 
well  of  prosperity  to  be  dipped  into  in  the  natural 
productions  of  the  country.  It  is  scarcity  which 
breeds  timidity ;  it  is  the  confidence  of  affluence 
which  occasions  waste. 

Of  course  there  was  much  talk  about  Rio  de 


THE   INVADERS  13 

Janeiro,  the  city  with  the  most  gorgeous  setting  in 
the  southern  hemisphere. 

"  Rio  harbour  is  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world," 
said  the  Brazilian. 

"  It  cannot  be  a  patch  on  Sydney  harbour,"  said 
the  Australian,  who  had  never  seen  Rio. 

"  Tut !  "  said  the  Brazilian,  who  had  never  seen 
Sydney. 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  an  exquisite  Sunday  after- 
noon that  our  glasses  caught  sight  of  the  hills  around 
Rio.  As  we  approached  and  ran  past  picturesque 
islands  a  wonderful  panorama  was  unfolded.  The 
scenery  was  unlike  any  other  scenery  in  the  world. 
The  hills,  radiant  with  equatorial  vegetation,  rose  like 
strange  humps  out  of  the  sea.  In  the  background 
giant  mountains  reared  their  heads  in  the  crim- 
son-grey clouds  of  approaching  evening.  The  pic- 
ture was  not  like  real  scenery.  It  was  like  the 
realisation  of  a  disordered  imagination.  I  would  say 
it  was  like  an  imitation  of  Turner,  were  the  illustration 
not  so  trite.  Then  I  thought  there  was  something 
Chinese  about  the  outreness  of  the  landscape.  Then 
the  sun  went  down  in  a  hurry,  and  the  background 
was  a  weird  purple.  The  ship  dropped  anchor,  and 
the  front  part  of  Rio  town,  a  tumble  of  fantastic  red 
and  yellow  washed  houses,  was  for  all  the  world  like 
a  drop  curtain  to  a  stage.  I  felt  we  had  slipped  into 
another  world — and  I  am  not  given  to  rhapsody. 

A  thousand  lamps  began  to  blink  along  the 
esplanade  which  curves  to  the  bend  of  the  bay.  A 
thousand  lights  pricked  the  hill  sides.    There  were 


14  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

two  big  black  Brazilian  warships,  and  somebody 
had  to  tell  the  old  story  how  two  battleships  were 
sent  out  to  visit  the  Brazilian  convict  island  in  the 
Atlantic,  and  how  one  returned  with  the  awful  story 
that  the  island  had  disappeared,  for  they  sailed 
straight  for  it  and  it  had  gone,  whilst  later  on  it  was 
learnt  that  the  other  vessel  had  certainly  found  the 
island,  for  it  got  piled  up  on  the  rocks.  Gaily  illu- 
minated launches  scurried  about  whilst  our  liner  was 
slowly  being  berthed  alongside  the  quay. 

"  Ah ! "  cried  the  Brazilian  to  me,  whilst  his 
eyes  glowed  brightly,  "  say  that  Rio  is  the  most 
lovely  harbour  in  the  world  !  " 

"  There's  nothing  to  shout  about,"  interrupted  the 
Australian,  "  alongside  Sydney  harbour  ;  and  you've 
seen  Sydney  harbour,"  he  added,  turning  to  me. 

As  a  sort  of  amateur  Solomon,  I  was  turned  to 
for  judgment.  My  first  comment  was  to  laugh.  I 
had  seen  the  two  harbours  which  are  each  claimed  by 
their  champions  to  be  the  grandest  thing  Nature  has 
ever  accomplished.  It  was  amusing  to  witness  the 
fervour  of  the  two  men,  as  though  they  had  a  hand 
in  the  making  of  these  famous  harbours.  They  were 
both  of  the  stuff  which  leads  men  to  believe  that 
for  any  other  country  to  have  pretensions  to  beauty 
is  just  dull-witted  boastfulness. 

"  Well,"  I  remarked,  "  I  think  Vigo  harbour  is 
charming." 

"  Oh,  Vigo  !  "  they  both  exclaimed  in  disgust. 

"And  there  is  something  to  be  said  for  the 
Golden  Gate  leading  to  San  Francisco,"  I  added. 


THE   INVADERS  i5 

"  But  the  Golden  Gate  and  any  other  place  is 
not  in  the  same  street  with  Sydney  harbour,"  blurted 
the  Australian  rather  angrily,  though  he  had  never 
seen  the  Golden  Gate.  "  It  cannot  be,"  he  said 
decisively. 

"  But  what  do  you  really  think  of  Rio  compared 
with  Sydney  ?  "  asked  the  Brazilian,  who  saw  I  was 
attempting  to  be  funny  at  the  expense  of  them  both. 

"  I'll  tell  you,"  I  said,  actually  throwing  half  a 
cigar  overboard,  for  I  was  called  upon  to  give  a  ver- 
dict on  one  of  the  most  debatable  subjects  in  the 
world.  "It  is  like  passing  judgment  on  two  lovely 
women.  For  grand,  impressive  spectacular  effect, 
being  hit  right  between  the  eyes  with  stupendous 
gorgeousness,  seeing  Rio  harbour  at  the  hour  of 
sunset  is  the  most  wonderful  sight  in  the  world." 

The  Brazilian  smiled,  and  the  Australian  made 
a  contemptuous  noise  with  his  lips. 

"  But  hold,"  I  added.  "  You  see  all  the  beauty 
of  Rio  harbour  at  one  view.  It  is  like  suddenly 
coming  face  to  face  with  an  imperial  lady  of  dazzling 
attractions.  When  you  have  seen  her  you  have  seen 
everything.  Sydney  harbour  does  not  knock  you 
over  with  bewilderment  of  beauty  like  Rio  does. 
It  is  more  calm,  less  turbulent ;  it  impresses  you. 
The  more  you  know  it  the  more  it  impresses  you.  And 
it  has  lovely  arms,  stretching  up  between  soft  wood- 
lands, as  peaceful  as  the  best  bits  of  the  Thames. 
Rio  has  nothing  like  that.  No,  no ;  I'm  not  com- 
petent to  pass  judgment.  You  two  gentlemen  can 
go  on  fighting  over  the  matter,  as  I  dare  say  the 


i6  THE   AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

people  of  your  two  countries  will  continue  to  do, 
till  the  crack  of  doom.  I  admit  the  unrivalled 
grandeur  of  Rio,  but  personally  I  have  more  affection 
for  the  grace  and  the  delights  of  Sydney." 

The  Brazilian  bowed  politely.  The  Australian 
wanted  to  argue  I  had  -  ceded  too  much  to  Rio. 
Happily,  just  then  a  group  of  friends  came  on  board 
to  rush  me  off  to  a  dinner  party  on  shore. 

Rio  will  always  remind  me  of  Imre  Kiralfy,  the 
White  City,  and  Earl's  Court.  There  are  some  narrow, 
old  European-like  streets  that  recall  places  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic :  the  houses  high  and 
sombre  and  with  a  little  mystery  behind  the  shutters. 
But  most  of  Rio  is  rampantly  new  and  garish.  The 
people  have  driven  a  magnificent  Avenida  right 
through  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  hang  the  expense  ! 
The  piles  of  buildings,  hotels,  public  offices,  great 
stores  along  this  Avenida  are  generally  eccentric  in 
architecture — and  there  comes  the  feeling  that  here 
these  transplanted  Latins,  with  a  strain  of  negro  in 
their  veins,  are  struggling  to  express  themselves  as 
a  new  people.  The  wonderful  thing  is  that  five 
years  ago  this  Avenida  was  not. 

Nothing  that  the  Riviera  has  can  outvie  the 
esplanade,  broad,  well  made,  with  miles  of  bright 
gardens  and  statues — and  the  motor-cars  whiz  along 
at  the  maddest,  breakneck  pace.  There  is  one  ex- 
quisite avenue  lined  with  nothing  but  palm  trees. 
Many  of  the  houses,  designed  surely  by  someone  who 
has  built  palaces  for  pantomimes,  are  half  buried 
behind    splashes    of    prodigal    tropical    vegetation. 


THE    INVADERS  17 

Everything  is  ornate,  showy.  From  the  standpoint 
of  British  comfort  the  buildings  are  gaudy  palaces, 
lacking  real  ease.  But  always  one  has  to  remember 
one  is  in  the  tropics. 

I  know  no  place  so  dazzling  as  Rio.  Behind  all 
the  glitter,  however,  there  is  gold.  There  is  com- 
merce, abounding  speculation,  the  devil-may-care 
assurance  of  the  gambler.  Broad  ways,  electric  car 
services,  hundreds  of  expensive  motor-cars,  extrava- 
gant restaurants,  ladies  laden  with  jewels,  the  men 
eager,  all  tell  the  opening  chapter  in  the  story  of 
Brazil's  future.  In  the  cool  Strangers'  Club  I  met 
men  of  the  Saxon  breed,  quiet  Englishmen,  quiet 
Americans,  representatives  of  syndicates  with  millions 
of  money  at  their  backs,  negotiating,  wire-pulling, 
securing  concessions  for  railroads,  for  developing 
stretches  of  that  great  back  country  of  Brazil,  as 
little  explored  as  Central  Africa,  but  the  possibilities 
of  which  the  world  is  realising  and  will  scramble 
hungrily  to  turn  into  profit.  What  Brazil  has 
accomplished  so  far  is  but  the  turning  of  the  key 
in  the  door. 

The  morning  comes  with  a  gasp,  and  a  flavour 
of  old  oil  is  in  the  air.  The  heavy  stillness  makes 
one  recite  the  agony  of  the  Ancient  Mariner.  We 
are  leaving  the  ocean,  and  the  steamer  is  churning 
a  way  up  an  ochreish  river,  banked  on  one  side, 
but  with  a  stretch  of  malarious  jungle  on  the  other. 
We  are  making  for  Santos,  and  an  old  German 
who  rests  his  elbows  on  the  rail  tells  how  he  has 
known  this  coast  for  thirty  years,  and  how,  in  the 
c 


i8  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

old  days,  it  reeked  with  yellow  fever ;  how  whole 
ships'  crews  went  down  before  the  scourge,  and  how 
no  passenger  boats  dared  lie  at  Santos  for  the  night, 
but  always  slipped  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
in  the  evening  so  that  fresh  air  could  be  obtained. 

Now  drainage  has  done  wonders,  and  Santos,  a 
great  export  town  for  Brazilian  coffee,  is  improving 
itself.  I  get  into  conversation  with  the  man  who 
has  been  engaged  to  settle  in  Santos  and  see  that 
the  place  is  improved.  The  river  is  deep,  serviceable, 
and  runs  far  inland.  Casting  my  eye  over  the  flat 
lands,  matted  with  vegetation,  and  dotted  with  many 
a  wretched  nigger  shanty,  I  have  a  vision  of  the 
time  when  docks  will  be  delved  and  many  of  the 
riches  of  Brazil  will  find  their  outlet  to  the  world 
by  this  gateway.  Great  wharves  are  on  the  river 
front  at  Santos. 

The  town,  however,  is  in  a  bugger-mugger  of 
change.  The  Brazilians  seem  to  lounge  round,  but 
they  are  forging  for  the  future.  Men  who  have  been 
with  us  for  a  fortnight  hasten  ashore.  They  have 
eagerness.  They  are  off  by  the  quaint  hill-climbing 
railway  to  San  Paulo,  high  perched,  healthy,  throb- 
bing with  trade.  Others  are  bent  for  the  interior, 
away  from  their  kind,  to  seek  their  fortunes. 

"  And  that's  the  end  of  my  six  months'  leave," 
says  a  red-faced  Englishman  with  a  sorrowful  smile. 
"  I  lived  away  back  there  for  three  years,  and  never 
saw  or  talked  to  another  Englishman.  I've  been 
home  for  my  holiday,  and  now  it  will  be  another 
three  years  before  I  come  back  from  the  plantations. 


THE   INVADERS  19 

Good-bye.  I'll  hunt  you  up  when  I'm  in  London 
again."  Off  he  goes — one  of  the  brave  men  of  the 
world. 

A  peep  at  Monte  Video,  the  neat  capital  of  the 
miniature  Republic  of  Uruguay,  and  then  the  black- 
green  of  the  ocean  we  have  been  travelling  for  three 
weeks  is  left  behind,  and  we  are  forcing  a  way  up 
the  yellow  waters  of  the  River  Plate.  A  river  ;  but 
for  hours  there  is  no  land  in  sight,  so  wide  is  the 
mouth  of  this  great  stream.  And  shallow,  for  at 
intervals  the  steamer  shivers  as  she  bumps  on  the 
bottom. 

"  That  is  all  right,"  says  the  captain,  "  for  we 
do  not  mind  a  couple  of  feet  of  mud." 

The  journey  of  the  new  adventurers  is  nearing  its 
end.  Shipboard  friendships  are  sworn  to  be  eternal. 
The  ship's  sports  are  long  over,  and  the  prizes  have 
been  distributed.  The  fancy  dress  ball  on  deck  is 
a  memory.  There  is  the  distribution  of  largesse 
amongst  those  who  have  made  things  pleasant. 
Cabin  passengers  are  light-hearted.  The  throng  of 
Spaniards  and  Italians  in  the  steerage  are  silent  and 
strangely  impressed.  They  were  sad  when  they  left 
the  old  lands  ;  they  were  happy  during  the  voyage ; 
now  the  mystery  of  the  unknown  is  laying  hold  of 
them.  We  pass  a  crowded  emigrant  ship  from  Italy, 
and  cheers  are  exchanged. 

Out  of  the  haze  of  the  hot  day  rises  the  low  land, 
Argentina.  We  see  the  buildings  of  La  Plata,  once 
intended  to  be  the  capital  of  the  country.  The  ship 
makes  strange  zigzags,  for  it  is  following  a  channel 


20  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

known  only  to  the  pilot.  There  rises  a  bank  of 
smoke.  As  we  get  nearer  we  run  into  shipping. 
From  the  background  emerge  tall  buildings,  white 
mostly,  and  recalling  the  skyscrapers  of  the  United 
States.  So  slowly,  laboriously,  the  good  ship  Avon, 
which  has  behaved  so  well,  is  brought  to  rest  in 
front  of  Buenos  Aires.  It  is  night,  but  the  wharves 
are  all  commotion.  There  is  the  shrieking  of  tugs. 
There  is  the  shout  of  excited  Argentines,  but  their 
garb  is  south  European.  Beyond  the  Custom  House 
can  be  seen  hastening  motor-cars  and  whizzing 
electric  tramcars.  And  here  is  a  newspaper  man, 
wanting  an  interview.  We  are  entering  "  the  amazing 
Argentine." 


-€i 


CHAPTER  II 

SOME   ASPECTS   OF   BUENOS   AIRES 

The  Argentines  call  their  city  of  Buenos  Aires  the 
Paris  of  the  southern  hemisphere.  It  has  a  popula- 
tion nearing  a  million  and  a  half,  which  is  greater 
than  that  of  any  other  town  below  the  line  of  the 
Equator.  The  people  promise  that  in  time  it  will 
overtake  London. 

You  insult  an  Argentine  if  you  mix  him  up  with 
Chilians,  Brazilians,  and  other  South  Americans.  He 
does  not  thank  you  for  being  reminded  his  father 
sailed  from  Italy,  or  his  grandfather  from  Spain.  He 
has  no  affection  for  any  old  land  from  which  his 
sires  came.  The  beginning  of  the  world  for  Argentina 
was  in  May,  1810,  when  the  Republic  was  set  up. 

He  has  no  pride  of  historic  race.  When  he  makes 
money  and  visits  Europe  it  is  not  to  find  the 
ancestral  home  in  Spain  or  Italy.  It  is  to  have  a 
good  time  in  Paris.  When  he  takes  his  family  to 
Paris  it  is  not  to  spend  three,  five,  or  six  iHonths.  It 
is  to  spend  three,  five,  or  six  hundred  thousand 
pesos — and  the  value  of  a  peso  is  one  shilling  and 
eightpence.  When  the  pesos  have  flown  he  returns 
to  Argentina  and  makes  more. 

The  Argentines  are  a  dignified  people.  They 
accept  the   English   because   in   round  figures   five 

ai 


22  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

hundred  millions  of  British  capital  in  gold  have 
aided  in  developing  the  country.  They  dislike  the 
citizen  of  the  United  States  because  the  big  brother 
Republic  of  the  north  patronises  them,  and  they  need 
nobody's  help.  They  have  a  contempt  for  all  other 
Latins  beneath  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  particularly 
the  Brazilians.  They  are  conscious  of  their  own 
qualities. 

And  the  visitor  blinks,  and  rubs  his  eyes,  and 
admits  the  wonders  of  Argentina.  If  his  acquaint- 
ance with  geography  is  casual  he  has  shrugged 
his  shoulders  at  South  American  Republics,  where 
they  have  revolutions  every  six  weeks,  and  where 
tawny  Spaniards  in  quaint  costumes  drive  mules 
and  die  from  difference  of  opinion  with  other 
Spaniards. 

Then  he  goes  to  "  B  A." — the  familiar  description 
of  Buenos  Aires — and  he  finds  he  has  landed  in  a 
rampantly  modern  American-cum-European  city. 
There  is  none  of  the  sloth  of  the  Southern,  no  check- 
ing of  business  between  noon  and  three  to  pass  in 
siestas. 

It  is  a  busy  city.  The  port  is  thronged  with 
shipping,  mostly  British.  High-shouldered  elevators 
stick  out  long  tongues,  and  streams  of  wheat,  grown 
on  the  plains  of  the  interior,  pour  food  for  Europe 
into  the  holds.  Trucks  of  cattle  grunt  through  the 
noisy  railway  yards.  There  are  huge  killing  estab- 
lishments, and  animals  go  to  their  death  by  the  many 
thousand  every  day  with  a  celerity  which  would 
awaken   a   Chicagoan.    There   are   mighty   avenues 


■  m  'Ir  ' 


Photograph  by  If.  C.  Olds,  Buenos  Aires. 

THE    PLAZA    HOTEL,    BUENOS    AIRES. 


SOME  ASPECTS  OF  BUENOS  AIRES    23 

of  chilled  and  frozen  meat.  Labour-saving  machinery 
carries  it  on  board  the  steamers  which  hasten  across 
the  Atlantic,  carrying  cheap  beef  to  the  London 
and  Liverpool  markets.  Commerce  is  conducted  on 
the  latest  scientific  lines.  The  North  Americans 
have  nobbled  the  meat  trade,  and  the  Jews  have 
control  of  the  wheat  market. 

Buenos  Aires  is  the  mart  where  the  produce  of 
the  rich  back-lands  is  bartered.  It  levies  a  heavy 
toll.  The  most  imposing  business  buildings  are  the 
banks — national  banks,  British,  German,  French, 
Spanish,  and  Italian  banks.  In  and  about  Recon- 
quista  are  these  banks,  ever  busy.  Near  by  are  the 
rival  shipping  offices,  a  glut  of  them.  The  offices 
of  the  great  railway  companies  are  enormous.  Wide- 
spreading  premises  exhibit  the  latest  and  best  agricul- 
tural machinery  that  Lincolnshire  and  Illinois  can 
produce.  There  is  the  hustle  of  commerce.  The 
streets  are  as  narrow  and  as  crowded  and  as  vital 
as  within  the  City  of  London.  There  is  earnestness 
about  the  men. 

The  Argentine  is  sombre  in  manner.  He  dresses 
in  conventional  black.  A  light  waistcoat,  a  gay  tie 
or  fancy  socks,  is  bad  form.  You  cannot  tell  the 
difference  between  a  millionaire  and  one  of  his  clerks, 
except  that  the  former  has  an  expensive  motor-car 
and  the  latter  hires  a  taxi  or  a  victoria,  or  travels 
by  electric  tramcar.  At  every  comer  you  see  evidence 
of  prosperity,  of  successful  money-making.  And 
money  speaks  in  "  BA."  as  loudly  as  it  does  in 
New  York. 


24  THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Folk  of  the  Saxon  breed  tend  to  scoff  at  the  decad- 
ence of  the  Latin  race.  But  there  is  something 
revivifying  in  the  transplanting  of  a  people.  We  have 
evidence  in  our  own  colonies.  The  man  of  Spanish 
descent  in  the  Argentine  is  not  always  the  spry  fellow 
he  thinks  himself;  but  he  has  dropped  the  cloak  of 
sluggishness  which  enwraps  Spain.  He  is  often  rich  ; 
he  lives  in  a  gorgeous  residence ;  his  extravagances 
are  beyond  those  of  a  Russian  archduke.  He  is 
polite  and  hospitable. 

But  the  wealthy  Spanish  Argentine  is  not  the 
creator  of  his  own  wealth.  I  heard  of  only  one  case 
of  a  Spanish  Argentine  owing  his  great  fortune  to 
commercial  enterprise.  The  fortunes  of  most  of  these 
Argentines  come  from  land.  Their  grandfathers  got 
immense  areas  by  the  easiest  means.  Properties  were 
so  enormous  that  extent  was  not  reckoned  in  acres, 
or  even  square  miles,  but  by  leagues.  But  a  hundred 
leagues,  however  good  for  cattle  or  sheep,  or  wheat 
growing — what  was  its  value  a  couple  of  hundred 
miles  from  a  port  ?  Then  came  British  railways. 
They  pierced  the  prairies.  The  land  bounded  in 
value,  tenfold,  a  thousandfold.  Other  people  came 
in ;  first  shrewd  Scotsmen ;  then  industrious  Italians  ; 
then  Englishmen  bent  on  becoming  estancieros.  Their 
children  are  Argentines.  But  the  mighty  fortunes 
are  mostly  in  the  possession  of  the  early  Argentines 
— ^those  who  were  settled  fifty  and  more  years  ago. 
They  have  sat  still  and  seen  their  land  blossom  in 
value.  They  pay  no  income  tax ;  there  is  no  tax 
on  unearned  increment.     Mr.  Lloyd  George  was  once 


SOME  ASPECTS  OF  BUENOS  AIRES    25 

in  the  Argentine,  associated  with  a  land  develop- 
ment company.     That,  however,  is  another  story. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  immigrants  pour  into 
the  Republic  every  year.  They  come  from  every 
land  on  earth.  Mostly  do  they  come  from  Spain  and 
Italy.  Italy  provides  the  greatest  number,  and 
splendid  colonists  they  are.  Though  the  language 
will  always  be  Spanish,  the  race  is  rapidly  becoming 
Italianised.  There  is  a  commingling  of  the  sterner 
stuff  from  Europe.  So  in  this  rich  land — ^rivalling 
Canada  and  Australia  in  productiveness — ^there  is 
being  blended  a  new  people,  keen,  alert,  successful, 
ostentatious,  pagan — a  people  that  has  a  destiny 
and  knows  it. 

The  Argentines  are  town  proud.  You  are  not  in 
Buenos  Aires  a  couple  of  days  before  you  are  bom- 
barded with  the  inquiry,  "  Don't  you  think  this  is 
a  beautiful  city  ?  "  It  is  not  that ;  but  it  is  an 
interesting  city. 

In  the  oldest  quarters  the  streets  are  narrow, 
after  the  Spanish  style.  So  narrow  are  they  that, 
with  electric  cars  jingling  along  them,  vehicles  are 
allowed  to  journey  only  one  way.  To  reach  a  shop 
by  carriage  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  drive  along 
three  and  a  half  sides  of  a  block  of  buildings.  Funny 
little  policemen,  brown  faced,  blue  clad,  and  with 
white  gaiters  and  white  wands,  direct  the  traffic. 
In  the  Florida— the  Bond  Street  of  "  B.A."— all 
wheeled  traffic  is  prohibited  between  the  hours  of 
four  and  seven  in  the  afternoon,  so  that  shoppers 
may  have  an  easier  way. 


26  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Most  of  the  streets  are  called  after  Argentine 
provinces,  or  neighbouring  republics,  or  national 
heroes,  or  some  politician  or  rich  man  who  can 
influence  the  authorities.  When  a  popular  man  has 
lost  his  popularity  the  remnant  of  his  fame  is  obliter- 
ated by  the  street  called  after  him  being  named  after 
someone  else.  It  is  as  though  the  Government  at  home 
decided  to  change  Victoria  Street,  Westminster,  into 
the  Avenida  Asquith,  with  the  prospect  of  its  being 
altered  later  on  to  the  Calle  Bonar  Law. 

Wide  plazas  decorate  the  city.  Vegetation  is 
luxuriant,  and  statues  are  numerous.  The  Plaza 
Mayo  is  not  called  after  an  Irish  peer,  but  after  the 
month  of  May,  1810.  The  shops  are  as  big  as  those 
in  London.  Argentina  manufactures  practically 
nothing,  and  all  the  lovely  things  have  to  be  imported 
from  Europe.  The  hotels  are  imitations  of  those 
in  Paris.  The  restaurants  are  on  a  par  with  the  best 
we  have  in  London.  A  Viennese  band  plays  whilst 
you  have  Russian  caviare  and  the  waiter  is  asking 
your  choice  in  champagne.  But  everything  is  ex- 
pensive. A  man  needs  three  times  the  salary  in 
Buenos  Aires  to  live  the  same  way  he  would  live 
in  London.  If  you  calculate  exchange  rates  you 
go  mad.  It  is  best  to  count  the  peso  (Is.  8d.)  as  a 
shilling,  and  then  remember  that  you  are  spending 
your  shilling  in  South  America,  where  things  are 
dear.  You  can  get  a  modest  luncheon  for  10s. ; 
but  you  will  pay  2s.  for  a  bottle  of  beer,  and  8s.  6d. 
for  a  cigar  worth  smoking. 

Yet   nobody   minds.    Immense   sums   are   being 


SOME  ASPECTS  OF  BUENOS  AIRES    27 

spent  on  improving  the  city.  It  is  built  on  the 
American  T-square  plan.  But  it  is  to  be  subjected 
to  the  plan  of  Haussmann,  with  great  tree-girt 
avenues  radiating  diagonally  from  the  Plaza  Mayo. 
An  underground  railway,  honeycombing  beneath  the 
town,  is  in  rapid  construction.  The  railways  have  a 
great  suburban  traffic,  and  are  being  electrified. 
There  are  British  colonies  at  Belgrano  and  Hurling- 
ham,  and  you  have  a  choice  of  three  golf  courses.  In 
the  summer  months — December,  January,  and  Febru- 
ary— ^there  is  river  life  on  the  Tigre,  the  Thames  of 
the  Argentine.  A  charming  spot  is  Palermo,  a  com- 
bination of  Hyde  Park  and  the  Bois  de  Boulogne 
—open  sweeps  and  charming  trees,  a  double  boule- 
vard with  statues  and  commemorative  marbles  in 
the  middle,  well-cared-for  gardens,  radiant  flowers 
and  the  band  playing. 

A  drive  through  Palermo  at  the  fashionable  hour 
causes  one  to  gasp  at  the  thought  that  one  is  six 
thousand  miles  from  Europe.  Nowhere  in  the  world 
have  I  seen  such  a  display  of  expensive  motor-cars, 
thousands  of  them.  Ostentation  is  one  of  the  stars 
of  life  in  the  Argentine.  Appearances  count  for  every- 
thing. You  must  have  a  motor-car,  even  though  you 
have  not  the  money  to  pay  for  it,  and  you  owe  the 
landlord  of  your  flat  a  year's  rent.  The  ladies  are 
exquisitely  gowned,  but  they  have  not  the  vivacity 
of  the  French  women  nor  their  daring  in  dress.  There 
is  a  demureness,  a  restraint  which  reminds  one  that 
the  atmosphere  of  far-away  Castile  is  still  upon 
them. 


28  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

On  Sundays  and  Thursdays  there  are  races  at 
Palermo.  The  price  Argentines  pay  for  horseflesh 
has  become  a  proverb.  It  is  a  good  race-course.  We 
have  nothing  in  England,  neither  at  Epsom,  Ascot, 
nor  Goodwood,  so  magnificent  as  the  grand  stand. 
It  is  a  glorified  royal  box.  The  restaurant  is  like 
the  Ritz  dining-room.  Everybody  dresses  as  they 
would  at  Ascot.  There  are  no  bookmakers.  The 
totalisator  is  used.  Betting  is  officially  conducted 
by  the  Jockey  Club,  and  there  is  constant  announce- 
ment of  the  amount  of  money  put  on  the  horses. 
Those  who  have  backed  the  winners  share  the  spoil, 
less  ten  per  cent.  As  this  ten  per  cent,  is  deducted 
from  the  total  amount  put  on  each  race,  the  income 
of  the  Jockey  Club  runs  into  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  pounds.  So  the  Club  maintains  a  good  race- 
course, offers  capital  prizes,  has  a  house  in  "  B.A." 
— undoubtedly  the  most  palatial  club-house  in  the 
southern  world  —  and  distributes  the  remainder 
amongst  the  hospitals.  The  income  of  the  Jockey 
Club  is  so  large  it  is  really  embarrassing.  The 
members  are  proceeding  to  build  an  Aladdin's  palace 
of  super-gorgeousness. 

But  at  the  races  at  Palermo  I  noticed  that  no 
ladies  attended,  except  in  the  members'  enclosure. 
Even  there  they  did  not  mingle  with  the  men-folk. 
There  was  no  mirth,  such  as  we  are  used  to  in  Europe. 
They  kept  themselves  to  little  groups.  Moving  from 
wonder  to  wonder,  I  was  present  at  a  gala  perform- 
ance at  the  Colon  Theatre.  I  have  seen  all  the  great 
theatres  in  the  world,  and  this  is  the  loveliest — a 


SOME  ASPECTS  OF  BUENOS  AIRES    29 

harmony  of  rose  and  gold.  The  audience  was  as 
fashionably  dressed  as  at  the  opera  in  London, 
though  I  missed  the  dazzling  display  of  diamonds 
which  had  been  promised.  Most  of  the  audience 
were  ladies ;  there  were  boxes  of  them,  and  most 
of  the  men  were  in  the  stalls.  There  was  one  gallery 
reserved  for  women. 

I  began  to  discern  a  strange  Orientalism  in  the 
relations  between  the  sexes.  The  Argentine  women 
are  amongst  the  best  mothers  in  the  world.  But 
there  is  practically  none  of  the  good  fellowship 
between  young  fellows  and  young  girls  which  is  so 
happy  a  feature  of  our  English  life.  For  a  man  and 
a  woman  to  take  a  walk  together  would  shock  the 
proprieties.  There  are  brilliant  receptions,  but  dinner 
parties,  as  we  know  them,  are  rare.  An  Argentine 
seldom  introduces  a  friend  to  his  wife.  Except 
amongst  the  poorest  a  woman  scarcely  ever  goes 
into  the  streets  alone.  If  she  does  she  runs  risk  of 
being  insulted.  There  are  Argentines,  who  would 
be  offended  if  refused  the  name  of  gentlemen,  who 
think  it  excellent  sport  to  walk  in  the  Florida  in  the 
evening  and  mutter  obscenities  to  every  unprotected 
woman  who  passes.  Buenos  Aires  is  the  most  immoral 
city  in  the  world.  So  the  Argentine  guards  his 
women-folk  from  contact  with  other  men.  His  atti- 
tude is  a  relic  of  the  days  when  the  Moors  had  posses- 
sion of  Spain. 

I  have  called  Buenos  Aires  a  pagan  city.  So  it  is. 
The  men  are  frankly  irreligious.  In  conversation  I 
have  been  told  of  the  tolerance    to    all    religions. 


30  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

What  is  really  meant  is  indifference  to  any 
religion. 

Money-making  and  flamboyant  display — these  are 
the  gods  which  are  worshipped.  The  houses  in  the 
wealthier  districts  are  exotic  in  architecture.  I  re- 
member driving  along  the  Avenida  Alvear,  a  street 
of  palaces,  reminiscent  of  the  Grand  Canal  at  Venice 
if  it  were  a  roadway.  But  the  fine  stone  blocks  are 
nothing  but  stucco.  The  ornamentation,  the  floral 
decorations,  are  not  carved  stone;  they  are  stucco. 
Imitation,  pretence,  showiness,  the  flaunting  of  wealth, 
are  everywhere. 

Yet  this  city,  which  has  grown  in  a  generation 
on  the  muddy  flats  by  the  side  of  the  muddy  Parana 
River,  has  something  that  is  weird  in  its  fascination. 


CHAPTER  III 

ROUND  AND  ABOUT  THE  CAPITAL 

The  way  not  to  see  a  city  is  to  be  trotted  round 
and  shown  all  the  "  sights."  I  have  an  idea  I  may 
have  missed  some  of  the  "  sights  "  of  Buenos  Aires. 
I  did  not  "  do  "  the  churches.  Acquaintances  who 
knew  I  went  to  South  America  to  pursue  my  trade 
of  writer  sometimes  asked  me  what  I  was  going 
to  write  about,  and  the  reply  was,  "  I  do  not  know." 
But  I  was  not  believed. 

Anyway,  I  may  say  that  I  drifted  about  "  B.A." 
I  presented  my  letters  of  introduction,  made  friends, 
lunched  out  and  dined  out,  had  motor  trips,  went 
here  and  there  as  suggestion  provided  the  inclina- 
tion ;  maybe  to  a  theatre,  or  to  smoke  a  cigar  in 
one  of  the  clubs  with  men  who  are  of  account  in 
Argentina  or  no  account  at  all,  or  to  spend  a  Sunday 
with  an  Argentine  family ;  maybe  to  idle  an  hour 
in  one  of  the  cafes  ;  maybe  to  have  a  serious  talk 
with  a  Minister ;  maybe  do  nothing  but  idle  round. 
That  is  no  scientific  way  to  study  a  city.  But  it 
just  happens  to  be  my  way. 

The  conclusions  I  draw  may  be  wrong,  for  I  may 
have  met  the  wrong  people  and  seen  the  wrong  things, 
especially  as  I  had  no  system.  Yet  out  of  the  con- 
fused jumble  of  impressions  and  experiences  some- 

31 


32  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

thing  coherent  evolves,  and  that  is  the  substance  of 
my  remarks  when  I  am  asked,  "  Well,  what  do  you 
think  about  Buenos  Aires  ?  " 

It  is  not  my  wish  to  accentuate  the  point,  but 
open-handed  extravagance  is  one  of  the  traits  of 
the  people.  It  is  a  fault  of  democratic  countries 
that,  having  no  aristocracy  of  birth,  they  proceed 
to  create  one  of  wealth.  Argentina  has  fine  old 
Spanish  families ;  but,  though  esteemed,  they  are 
in  the  background.  In  the  wrangle- jangle  of  frenzied 
progress  they  are  not  to  be  counted  amongst  the 
moderns.  So  garish  is  the  display  of  money  that 
the  idea  left  is  that  you  have  had  your  attention 
called  to  it  by  the  constant  blaring  of  a  bugle. 

But  I  would  shrink  from  saying  the  display  is 
vulgar.  Keeping  in  mind  that  the  people  are  Latins, 
and  are  fonder  of  colour  than  we  of  the  cold  and 
moral  north,  I  would  write  there  is  a  sort  of  osten- 
tatious restraint.  Argentines  glory  in  spending  money, 
but  amongst  the  older  settled  people  other  things 
besides  money  have  their  place.  They  are  fond  of 
music,  and  pride  themselves  that  they  discovered 
Tetrazzini  and  Kubelik  long  before  London.  Here, 
as  in  Paris,  London,  and  New  York,  there  is  the 
mob  which  goes  to  the  opera  because  it  is  "  the 
thing  "  to  have  an  expensive  box,  and  to  wear  lovely 
gowns  and  loads  of  diamonds.  The  prices  paid  make 
the  charges  for  a  gala  night  at  Covent  Garden  seem 
like  those  of  a  twopenny  show.  It  may  be  said  that 
a  well-known  artiste  is  sure  of  a  kindly  reception. 
Yet  Buenos  Aires  has  its  moods ;   it  has  its  vagaries. 


LOLA    MORA    FOUNTAIN.    BUENOS    AIRES. 


ROUND  AND  ABOUT  THE  CAPITAL    33 

and  is  petulant.  For  some  undefinable  reason  it 
will  take  a  dislike  to  some  performer  who  arrives 
with  a  European  reputation.  Perhaps  half  a  dozen 
ladies  who  lead  the  fashionable  world  will  say  the 
artiste  is  overrated.  "  She  may  be  all  right  for 
Paris,  but  she  does  not  come  up  to  Buenos  Aires 
standard  " — that  is  the  attitude.  For  anybody  to 
praise  the  poor  singer  after  that  is  to  advertise  their 
inartistic  taste.  There  is  a  boycott.  So  a  European 
singer  or  instrumentalist  who  goes  to  the  Argentine 
aglow  with  the  prospect  of  a  dazzling  success  some- 
times returns  with  the  saddest  of  experiences — 
neglect. 

With  such  a  people,  Latin  in  race  and  living  in 
the  sunshine,  life  is  something  of  a  holiday.  One 
hears  stories  of  the  looseness  of  life  amongst  the 
men — on  the  boats  running  between  France  and 
Argentina  can  be  seen  the  girls  going  out  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  hundreds  of  houses  of  ill- 
fame — ^but  the  Argentine  women  themselves  are 
beyond  reproach.  Indeed,  their  regard  for  correct- 
ness is  often  amusingly  prudish.  Public  opinion  is 
so  strong  that  no  lady,  if  she  wants  the  esteem  of 
her  neighbours,  dare  show  the  slightest  originality 
in  costume  or  conduct.  Plays  with  the  faintest 
hint  of  suggestiveness  about  them  are  barred.  Per- 
formances which  would  pass  muster  in  a  London 
West-end  theatre  are  shunned ;  plays  to  which  the 
most  innocent  of  girls  cannot  go  are  taboo.  The 
consequence  of  this  is  that  there  are  other  places  of 
amusement  especially  catering    for  men,   which  no 

D 


34  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

respectable  woman  can  enter.  Just  outside  the 
boundaries  there  are  cinematograph  shows  "  for 
men  only,"  which  for  indecency  cannot  be  outdone 
hi  Port  Said  or  Havana. 

I  have  mentioned  how  the  visitor  to  Argentina 
soon  begins  to  be  aware  of  the  low  position  of  women 
in  the  minds  of  men,  the  way  in  which  there  is  no 
real  friendship  between  the  sexes  outside  the  family 
circle,  and  how  no  Argentine  will  trust  another 
Argentine  in  regard  to  his  ladies.  With  all  their 
finery  and  jewellery  and  expensive  motor-cars  and 
boxes  at  the  Colon  Theatre,  you  are  prone  to  remark, 
"  How  un-European ! "  when  you  see  the  segre- 
gation of  the  women. 

Yet  with  all  their  frivolity,  dress,  bridge,  amuse- 
ments, you  make  a  mistake  if  you  fancy  the  Argen- 
tine lady  a  guarded,  slothful  doll — ^though  the  descrip- 
tion applies  in  thousands  of  cases.  I  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  the  other  side  of  the  picture.  On 
two  days,  under  the  guidance  of  ladies  themselves, 
I  visited  the  establishments  of  Las  Damas  da  Bene- 
ficencia  and  several  Government  hospitals.  A  noble 
work  is  being  done.  I  saw  how  the  poor  are  cared 
for.  There  was  the  nurturing  of  the  old.  There  was 
tending  the  sick  in  buildings  worthy  of  any  city  in 
the  world.  There  were  the  homes  where  the  wives 
of  poor  folk  could  come  to  bring  their  babies  into 
the  world.  There  is  much  illegitimacy,  and  formerly 
there  was  much  infanticide.  So  there  was  a  kind 
of  casement  where,  at  dusk,  mothers  could  bring 
their    unwanted    offspring    and    deHver   them.    No 


ROUND  AND  ABOUT  THE  CAPITAL    35 

questions  were  asked,  but  the  infant,  because  it 
was  a  helpless  little  child,  was  cared  for.  The  same 
work  is  done  to-day,  but  without  the  mystery  of 
the  casement.  Foster-mothers  are  engaged  to  nurse 
the  children.  As  one  went  through  the  rooms,  and 
saw  the  tiny  morsels  of  humanity,  many  of  them 
feeble,  with  a  shape  of  head  which  roused  wonder 
as  to  the  future,  it  was  hard  to  keep  the  tears  away. 

Poverty,  as  we  understand  it  in  Europe,  does 
not  exist  in  Argentina.  But  there  are  men  who  are 
stricken  down  in  early  manhood,  unable  to  earn  any- 
thing, and  who  need  help.  There  are  widows  and 
the  fatherless  to  be  cared  for.  There  are  poor  folk, 
but  their  trouble  is  due  to  misfortune  and  not  to 
economic  causes.  Charity,  however,  is  great,  and 
funds  are  numerous  and  the  Government  provides 
handsomely,  and  there  is  no  distress  such  as  we 
know  it.  But  all  this  good  work,  hospitals,  looking 
after  the  aged,  providing  for  the  fatherless,  is  carried 
on  by  the  women  of  Argentina.  Except  to  serve 
as  doctors,  no  men  have  any  voice  in  the  control  or 
management.  Ladies,  with  their  presidents  and 
boards  of  management  and  committees,  have  the 
work  placed  entirely  in  their  hands.  It  is  set  apart 
for  them,  and  no  man  interferes.  Yet  the  suffrage 
question  has  not  extended  to  Argentina. 

Life  is  taken  lightly  and  showily  by  this  new 
nation.  But  when  anybody  dies  all  the  relatives  go 
into  mourning,  to  the  fourteenth  cousin.  And  in 
death  the  display  is  just  as  rampant  as  in  life.  The 
Recoleta  is  a  strange   cemetery,   bizarre,   ghoulish, 


36  THE   AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

tawdry.  To  own  a  tomb  in  Recoleta  is  one  of  the 
necessities  if  a  family  wants  to  be  in  the  swim. 
These  tombs  are  Hke  chalets,  occasionally  of  Italian 
marble,  generally  of  the  Buenos  Aires  stucco — the 
capital  surpasses  all  other  cities  in  the  world 
in  the  amount  of  stucco — and  they  are  ornate. 
There  are  streets  upon  streets  of  them,  and 
you  take  a  walk  through  a  town  of  the  dead. 
The  doors  are  open,  and  you  can  step  in  and 
see  half  a  dozen  coffins  ranged  round  the  shelves. 
Occasionally  there  are  photographs  of  the  dear 
departed.  On  All  Saints'  Day  it  is  usual  for  the 
living  family  to  gather  in  the  tomb,  have  tea,  and 
munch  cakes.  After  a  number  of  years  the  coffins 
have  to  be  removed,  or  a  heavy  sum  paid,  and  the 
tomb  is  "to  let."  The  whole  thing  is  repulsive  to 
the  Englishman,  but  the  Argentine  loves  it. 

The  capital  of  Buenos  Aires  province  is  La  Plata, 
about  fifty  miles  away.  I  went  down  one  day  by 
the  luncheon  train,  which  runs  out  of  the  Plaza 
Constitution  just  after  midday  and  does  the  journey 
in  an  hour.  It  was  a  fine  train,  and  the  luncheon  car 
was  bigger,  and  the  food  better  than  we  have  on 
English  lines.  The  car  was  crowded  with  a  sallow- 
skirmed,  black-moustached,  black-garbed  lot  of  gentle- 
men, and  I  gathered  they  were  all  Government 
officials.  Nobody  in  Government  employ  thinks  of 
doing  any  work  in  the  morning.  The  men  go  to  the 
office  late  and  leave  early.     It  was  almost  like  home. 

La  Plata  is  a  town  that  has  missed  its  way.  Full 
of  grandiose  ideas,  and  taking  the  United  States  as 


LA     KEGOLETA. 


ROUND  AND  ABOUT  THE  CAPITAL    37 

a  model,  it  was  decided  to  build  La  Plata  as  the 
federal  capital  on  the  Washington  plan.  Gorgeous 
buildings  were  erected ;  magnificent  avenues  were 
constructed ;  the  loveliest  of  public  gardens  were 
laid  out ;  a  fine  museum  was  founded ;  a  great 
municipal  theatre  was  piled  up.  In  the  public  square 
bandstands  were  provided  and  statues  to  national 
heroes  hoisted.  It  was  to  be  the  flower  of  Argen- 
tine towns.  And  every  Argentine  town,  when  it 
sets  out  to  beautify  itself,  must  have  an  avenida 
and  a  plaza  and  an  equestrian  statue  of  San 
Martin  ;  the  matters  of  water  supply  and  drainage 
come  later. 

But  the  federal  capital  absolutely  refused  to 
settle  at  La  Plata.  It  was  too  near  Buenos  Aires, 
where  society  lived,  and  where  there  was  a  whirl  of 
excitement.  So,  perforce,  the  capital  had  to  be 
at  Buenos  Aires,  and  a  Government  House  for 
the  residence  of  the  President  of  the  Republic 
was  built,  and  is  known  as  the  "  Palace  o 
Gold,"  because  of  the  money  consumed  in  its 
construction. 

Argentina  is  ever  willing  to  vote  vast  sums  for 
town  adornment ;  but  the  money  has  a  habit  of 
evaporating  before  half  the  work  is  done,  and  then 
more  is  needed. 

However,  La  Plata  is  the  capital  of  the  province 
of  Buenos  Aires ;  but  the  majority  of  officials  refuse 
to  live  there.  They  prefer  to  come  down  from 
Buenos  Aires  at  a  quarter  past  one,  and  catch  the 
quarter  to  five  train  back.     The  Governor  has  made 


38  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

appeals ;  he  has  even  threatened  what  he  will  do  if 
the  officials  do  not  live  in  La  Plata.  They  take  no 
notice.  The  consequence  is  that  this  beautiful  city 
— and  without  doubt  it  is  majestic  in  its  spaciousness 
— is  deserted,  and  a  saunter  through  it  is  like  a  walk 
through  an  old  cathedral  town  on  a  drowsy  after- 
noon. 

As  a  companion  and  a  host  no  one  could  be  more 
charming  than  the  Argentine.  He  loves  his  country, 
but  is  willing  to  hear  praise  about  other  countries 
without  thinking  you  wish  to  depreciate  Argentina. 
He  will  go  to  infinite  trouble  to  secure  some  particular 
information  you  are  anxious  to  possess.  Men  on 
whom  I  had  no  personal  claim  whatever  laid  aside 
their  work  and  devoted  a  couple  of  days  in  ray  behalf. 
As  the  men  are  courteous  so  the  women  are  graceful, 
until  lack  of  exercise  and  over-eating  makes  them 
stout.  The  girls  are  modest,  but,  I  am  afraid,  centre 
their  thoughts  on  dress.  It  rather  shocked  one  to  see 
that  it  is  a  habit  for  quite  young  girls  of  thirteen  or 
fourteen  years  to  daub  their  faces  with  powder.  As 
for  the  young  gentleman,  he  begins  when  twelve 
years  of  age  to  smoke  and  to  tell  lewd  stories.  He 
is  impudent  to  the  servants  and  to  his  parents,  and 
I  have  known  fathers  smile  when  told  their  sons 
of  fifteen  have  taken  to  visiting  houses  of  ill-fame. 
Some  Argentines  are  taking  to  healthy  sport ;  but 
it  would  be  better  if  all  of  them  took  to  outdoor 
exercises,  cricket,  football,  baseball,  tennis,  and 
golf.  The  Argentine  young  gentleman  is  bright  but 
superficial,   and  is  too  fond  of  the  clothes  of  the 


ROUND  AND  ABOUT  THE  CAPITAL  39 

dandy  and  jewellery  and  perfumes  to  excite  any 
admiration  amongst  men  who  dislike  effeminacy  in 
their  own  sex. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  receive  nothing  but 
kindness  from  every  class  of  Argentine  that  I  met. 
But  I  am  not  going  to  hide  I  met  Englishmen,  who 
knew  more  about  the  Argentines  and  who  had  few 
generous  things  to  say.  "  There  is  no  morality, 
unless  the  young  women  are  guarded ;  the  Argentine 
is  egotistic  beyond  words  ;  domestic  habits  are  dirty, 
and  taking  a  bath  is  rare ;  the  men  chatter,  and, 
whilst  voluble  with  friendship,  are  suspicious ;  they 
are  bombastic  about  patriotism,  but  are  not  above 
receiving  bribes ;  all  the  advantages  the  Argentine 
has  he  owes  to  foreigners ;  he  produces  nothing  him- 
self ;  he  is  shallow  and  shiftless ;  the  only  business 
instinct  he  has  is  cunning,  and  the  old  Spanish 
manana  spirit — always  putting  off  till  to-morrow  the 
performance  of  a  business  duty — ^is  deep  seated." 
All  of  which  shows  how  impossible  it  is  to  draw  a 
composite  picture  of  an  individual  to  represent  a 
nation.  Just  as  there  are  nice  Englishmen  and 
vulgar  fellows,  cultured  Americans  and  bounders, 
delightful  Germans  and  hoggish  sots,  so  in  Argentina 
it  takes  all  sorts  to  make  a  people.  The  growing 
practice  of  well-to-do  Argentines  of  sending  their  chil- 
dren to  be  educated  in  Europe  has  its  advantages, 
though  there  is  another  side  of  the  picture.  They 
certainly  acquire  better  manners  than  they  pick  up 
at  home ;  they  learn  that  Argentina  is  not  the 
centre  of  the  world.     When  they  return  to  Argentina 


40  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

and  display  the  consequences  of  foreign  travel  they 
are  not  popular. 

As  far  as  I  could  discern  the  Argentine,  though 
still  infused  with  Latin  traits,  still  showy  and  talka- 
tive, more  inclined  to  gamble  than  to  do  hard  work, 
is  breaking  through  and  away  from  the  old  Spanish 
habits.  European  business  men  told  me  they  were 
keen  witted,  but  incompetent  in  practical  affairs. 
But  there  is  too  much  business  now  going  on  in 
Argentina,  too  much  development  of  industries  in 
which  foreigners  have  little  hand,  too  thorough  a 
grasp  of  some  of  the  problems  which  face  all  new 
lands,  for  the  Argentines  to  be  dismissed  with  a 
phrase. 

I  could  see  they  were  inexact,  that  they  were  fond 
of  showing  off,  that  knowledge  of  the  world  was 
thin  ;  but  I  did  understand  their  genuine  ambition 
to  lift  Argentina  into  the  first  rank  among  nations  ; 
that  where  they  lacked  technical  and  mechanical 
knowledge  themselves  they  were  willing  to  let  others 
come  in ;  that  they  were  quite  alive  to  what  progress 
means  in  the  modern  sense.  The  conservatism  of 
the  old  Spaniard  has  completely  disappeared.  The 
Argentine  wants  the  latest  and  the  best.  If  one  goes 
forth  to  gather  faults  it  is  easy  enough  to  get  a  basket- 
ful. What  drew  me,  however,  was  not  so  much 
listening  to  a  catalogue  of  things  he  is  not,  but  to 
mark  down  what  he  is,  what  he  has  done  and  is 
doing,  and  what  he  intends  to  do.  As  a  small  in- 
stance, in  Buenos  Aires  the  habit  of  the  Spanish 
siesta  is  abandoned.     There  is  no   pulling  down   of 


THE  SOUTHERN  STATION  AT  LA  PLATA. 


IN     THE     GREAT    SQUARE     AT     LA     PLATA. 


ROUND  AND  ABOUT  THE  CAPITAL    41 

business  shutters  between  noon  and  three  o'clock. 
The  climate  is  enervating,  but  be  the  day  never  so 
steamy,  with  hot  gusts  panting  from  the  north,  the 
city  is  early  alive  with  commerce,  the  suburban 
trains  are  packed,  the  Stock  Exchange  is  a  babble 
of  excitement — and  there  never  seems  to  be  any 
drawing  of  rein  till  five  or  six  in  the  afternoon.  There 
is  hustle. 

The  way  the  population  jumps  up  is  phenomenal. 
It  signifies  much  that  an  eighth  of  a  million  is  added 
to  the  population  of  a  capital  in  a  single  year.  Sky- 
scrapers now  tower  over  the  buildings  which  were 
thought  enormous  a  dozen  years  ago.  Notwith- 
standing the  services  of  the  policemen  directing  the 
traffic,  there  is  often  a  tangle  of  motor-cars,  electric 
tramcars,  private  carriages  and  carts.  New  broad- 
ways are  being  driven  through  the  city,  and  up  go 
palatial  stores.  Most  English  newspapers  are  modest 
in  locale.  But  the  Argentine  newspapers  keep  in 
the  sun.  La  Prensa  is  one  of  the  best-informed 
journals  in  the  world.  It  has  a  noble  exterior  to  its 
offices.  Inside  are  luxurious  suites  of  rooms,  lecture 
halls,  libraries,  and  the  public  are  invited  to  enter. 
Every  public  building,  all  the  clubs,  even  the  churches, 
seem  to  be  tied  up  with  long  ropes  of  different  coloured 
electric  lamps,  so  that  on  nights  of  festival  the 
switch  is  jerked  and  the  whole  place  is  radiantly 
illuminated. 

It  is  all  very  wonderful.  The  confusion,  the 
barbarism,  the  love  of  beauty  and  the  display  of 
dollars,   the   inflow  of  invested  gold,  the  coming  of 


42  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

the  immigrant,  the  whirl  of  business,  the  big  deals, 
the  gambling,  the  making  of  fortunes  and  the  losing 
of  fortimes,  dazzle  the  mind.  But  you  feel  the 
fascination  of  Buenos  Aires.  It  has  grown  so 
astonishingly  in  so  short  a  time  that  you  gasp  when 
you  contemplate  how  much  more  it  is  likely  to 
grow. 


STATUE  PRESENTED  TO  ARGENTINA  BY  THE  FRENCH  COMMUNITY 
ON    THE    OCCASION    OF   THE    CENTENARY   OF    INDEPENDENCE. 


CHAPTER  IV 

RAILWAY  DEVELOPMENT  IN  THE  REPUBLIC 

The  place  Argentina  holds  in  the  world  is  due  to 
the  meat  and  wheat  it  sends  to  other  lands.  But 
having  recognised  its  fecundity  as  a  good  food- 
producing  area,  it  is  well  to  start  at  the  beginning. 
Argentina  may  have  had  fine  grazing  tracks  capable 
of  rearing  untold  millions  of  cattle  and  arable  land 
that  had  only  to  be  scratched  to  peld  excellent  crops 
of  cereals ;  but  without  transport  values  are  at  a 
minimum.  Accordingly,  the  development  and  pros- 
perity of  the  Argentine  is  mainly  due  to  railways. 
The  sum  of  £300,000,000  British  capital  is  invested 
in  Argentine  railways  and  electric  tramways. 

I  travelled  a  good  deal  in  the  Republic,  from 
Buenos  Aires  to  Inca  in  the  Andes,  and  from  Tucuman 
in  the  north  to  Bahia  Blanca  in  the  south.  I  journeyed 
over  hundreds  of  miles  of  flat,  featureless,  dreary 
country  that  grew  nothing  but  wild  grasses  until  a 
few  years  ago.  And  there  are  plenty  of  sandy, 
bush-studded,  alkali-stricken  acres — ^just  as  you  find 
barren  patches  in  the  United  States,  Canada,  Siberia, 
and  Australia — but  there  are  thousands  of  leagues 
awakened  into  life,  estancias  with  great  herds  of 
cattle  munching  at  the  alfalfa,  stretches  of  wheat 
and  maize,  on  and  on,  as  though  without  end,  the 

43 


44  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

only  break  on  the  horizon  being  the  colonist's  mud 
hut,  a  clump  of  trees — and  it  always  seems  the  same 
clump  of  trees — which  indicates  a  ranch,  and  the 
ever- whirring  American  water-wheel.  As  you  travel 
through  England  it  is  the  spires  of  churches  that 
pierce  the  sky.  The  only  thing  that  ever  pierces  the 
sky  on  the  Argentine  pampas  is  the  zinc  American 
water-wheel.  The  Argentine  estanciero  thinks  a  water- 
wheel  is  of  more  use  to  him  than  a  church. 

All  over  this  land,  zigzagging,  curving,  inter- 
secting, sometimes  running  in  an  absolutely  straight 
line  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  is  the  greatest 
length  of  railway  lines  in  the  world  for  a  population 
of  seven  millions.  The  towns  are  far  apart ;  villages 
are  few.  You  journey  half  a  day,  and,  except  at 
the  little  wayside  stations,  do  not  see  more  than 
half  a  dozen  folk  on  the  land.  Yet  it  is  a  smiling 
land,  and  greets  the  sunshine  with  abundance. 
The  railways  in  the  Argentine  are  to  garner  this 
wealth.  Freight  trains,  with  cars  of  the  colossal 
American  pattern,  trundle  their  long  length  across 
the  plains. 

I  recall  one  night  when,  at  a  forgotten  siding, 
the  engine  drew  out  to  get  water,  taking  a  saunter 
along  the  train  side.  It  was  brilliantly  lit  with 
electricity,  and  the  restaurant  car,  with  the  usual 
little  red-shaded  lamps  on  the  tables,  was  busy ; 
crowds  of  passengers  were  dining,  and  the  usual 
waiters  were  scurrying,  and  there  was  the  usual 
Continental  fare,  and  champagne  and  Moselle  wines, 
and  the  usual  mineral  waters  you  get  on  the  Nord 


RAILWAY    DEVELOPMENT  45 

express.  That  gleaming  train  in  central  South 
America  was  the  symbol  of  what  railway  enterprise 
has  done  ^n  Argentina. 

There  are  20,000  miles  of  railroads  in  the  Republic. 
The  British  showed  the  way  in  the  initial  building, 
and  their  lines  pass  through  some  of  the  fattest 
territory.  The  French  have  been  tardy  followers, 
but  have  constructed  useful  minor  lines.  The  Argen- 
tine Government  has  built  State  lines  through  country 
that  was  suitable  for  colonisation,  but  which  did 
not  appeal  to  the  outside  investor.  These  State 
railways  are  financially  a  failure.  One  reason  is  that 
the  territory  through  which  they  run  is  not  of  the 
best.  The  principal  reason  is  that  they  are  the 
prey  of  the  politicians.  Constituencies  have  to  be 
considered,  and  innumerable  jobs  found  for  the 
hangers-on  of  political  parties.  Business  conditions 
are  the  last  to  be  thought  of,  and,  though  the  Govern- 
ment has  done  well  in  throwing  these  lines  into 
distant  regions  needing  development,  they  are  not 
likely  to  succeed  until  placed  under  different 
control. 

Not  only  have  the  Argentines  themselves  not 
started  railway  companies,  but  they  have  no  money 
invested  in  the  foreign  companies.  One  cause  is 
that,  though  the  Government  insists  on  a  local 
board  of  directors,  the  real  board  of  directors  is 
abroad,  chiefly  in  London.  Another  cause  is  that 
dividends  are  limited  by  law  to  7  per  cent.,  and 
that  is  not  a  sufficient  return  for  the  Argentine. 
He  does  not  care  to  touch  investments  that  do  not 


46  THE  AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

yield  12  per  cent.,  and  when  he  gets  80  per  cent, 
he  thinks  that  about  fair — ^and  the  country  is  so 
prosperous  it  can  afford  it. 

Although  within  the  last  fifteen  years  millions  of 
British  money  have  poured  into  Argentina  for  rail- 
way construction,  the  investor  in  the  old  days  cast 
a  hesitating  eye  on  South  America  as  a  place  to 
sink  his  capital.  In  the  'fifties  a  railway  a  few  miles 
long  was  all  that  Argentina  could  boast,  and  ten  years 
later,  when  7  per  cent,  was  guaranteed,  money  was 
not  forthcoming.  As  an  inducement  to  construct  a 
line  between  Rosario  and  Cordoba  the  absolute 
ownership  of  three  miles  on  either  side  of  the  line 
was  offered.  Even  with  such  an  attraction  the 
British  investor  was  shy. 

Gradually,  however,  money  was  forthcoming,  and 
lines  were  laid.  In  the  'eighties  there  came  a  spurt. 
It  was  not  till  the  years  following  1900  that  money 
could  be  had  for  the  asking.  Lines  cobwebbed  the 
profitable  country ;  distant  points  were  linked  up ; 
land  which  previously  had  httle  beyond  prairie 
value  bounced  up  in  price. 

Though  to-day  there  is  a  thought  in  the  public 
mind  that  a  little  too  much  money  has  been  thrown 
into  Argentina,  that  land  prices  are  too  inflated — 
which  they  are — I  have  traversed  districts  which  three 
years  ago  were  wilderness ;  but  a  spur  of  railway 
has  been  driven  into  them,  and  instantly  farming  has 
been  started.  I  saw  hundreds  of  freshly-built  home- 
steads— crude,  and  the  life  harsh,  but  it  was  the 
beginning   of  great   things — and   alfalfa   had    been 


RAILWAY    DEVELOPMENT  47 

laid  down,  and  cattle  were  feeding,  and  wide  spaces 
which  previously  were  sandy  and  apparently  in- 
hospitable were  carpeted  with  the  bright  green  of 
new  wheat.  Just  as  in  Canada  there  is  a  belief  that 
the  breaking  up  of  the  land  had  decreased  the  severity 
of  the  frost,  so  there  is  a  belief  in  Argentina  that 
rains  follow  the  plough.  Places  which  formerly  had 
little  rainfall,  and  which  had  a  doubtful  agricultural 
future,  are  proving  successful.  Yet  without  the 
advance  of  railways  the  country  would  have  been  as 
forlorn  as  when  the  Indians  roved  the  pampas. 

Railway  companies  in  England  have  had  to  fight 
landowners  to  make  headway.  In  Argentina  land- 
owners welcome  the  coming  of  a  railway,  for  obvious 
reasons.  Most  of  the  wealthy  Argentines  owe  their 
fortunes  to  their  land  being  benefited  by  the  rail- 
ways. As  a  rule,  out  in  the  far  districts,  a  railway 
company  can  get  the  necessary  land  for  nothing. 
Owners  are  willing  to  make  financial  contributions. 
The  general  managers  of  the  big  British  railways  in 
Argentina  get  large  salaries — ^£7,000  a  year.  This  is 
partly  to  remove  them  from  the  range  of  tempta- 
tion of  being  bribed  by  owners,  syndicates,  or  land 
companies  to  authorise  the  making  of  railways  where 
they  would  not  be  economically  advisable.  Of  course, 
extensions  near  the  big  towns  cost  the  railways  as 
much  as  they  would  in  England.  I  know  a  man  who 
thirty  years  ago  bought  a  piece  of  land  for  £1,600. 
He  sold  it  to  a  railway  company  for  over  £200,000. 

Though  foreign  capital  is  having  so  extensive  a 
run  in  networking  the  country  with  railways,   the 


48  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Argentine  Government  has  a  much  closer  grip  on 
the  working  of  the  Hnes  than  the  Board  of  Trade  has 
on  EngHsh  companies.  It  is  therefore  no  misrepre- 
sentation to  say  that,  whilst  private  owners  are  glad 
to  have  their  property  enhanced  in  value  by  the 
juxtaposition  of  a  railway,  the  Government  puts 
obstacles  in  the  way  for  what  are  ostensibly  public 
reasons.  Accordingly,  expensive  "  diplomacy  "  has 
sometimes  to  be  used.  The  Government  is  suffi- 
ciently aware  of  the  return  the  foreign  investor  gets 
— and  when  fresh  extensions  are  sought  it  invariably 
withholds  its  consent  until  some  concession  has  been 
wrung  out  of  the  company,  such  as  an  undertaking 
to  construct  a  line  through  a  district  that  cannot, 
for  some  time  at  any  rate,  be  a  success.  There  is 
never  any  guarantee  that  another  company  will  not 
be  formed  to  work  the  same  district.  The  Govern- 
ment smiles  at  the  fight  between  the  two  lines  for 
traffic — to  the  public  benefit.  When  companies 
propose  to  amalgamate  the  Government  either 
makes  such  demands  in  regard  to  uneconomic  lines 
that  the  thing  falls  through  or  a  veto  is  put  upon 
the  amalgamation  altogether. 

Perhaps  it  is  due  to  the  excellence  of  the  rail- 
ways that  the  Argentine  high  roads  are  so  bad.  And 
frankly,  though  I  know  most  of  the  new  lands  of  the 
world,  I  know  of  no  region  where  the  country  roads 
are  so  villainous  as  in  this  Republic.  Rarely  are  they 
anything  beyond  mother  earth.  In  wet  weather 
they  are  quagmires,  and  I  have  seen  vehicles  stranded, 
unable  to  be  hauled  by  a  team  of  five  horses.     In 


RAILWAY    DEVELOPMENT  49 

summer,  when  rain  is  absent,  they  are  foot-deep 
furrows  of  dust.  I  shall  never  forget  a  motor  excur- 
sion through  the  sugar  plantations  round  about 
Tucuman.  The  way  was  like  a  magnified  ploughed 
field,  and  all  the  ridges  were  of  dust.  We  drove 
through  it  as  an  engine  drives  through  snow. 

All  railway  material  comes  in  duty  free,  but  one 
of  the  conditions  is  that  3  per  cent,  of  the  profits 
shall  be  used  for  the  making  of  roads  leading  to  rail- 
way stations.  The  companies  do  not  object,  because 
the  call  is  not  large,  and  it  is  to  their  interest  that 
agriculturists  should  be  able  to  get  their  produce 
to  the  railway  station  to  be  transported  over  the  lines. 

The  Direccion-General  de  Ferrocarriles  is  the 
authority  over  the  railways  in  Argentina.  It  decides 
the  number  of  trains  which  shall  be  run,  and  it 
insists  on  the  number  of  coaches.  There  must  be  a 
certain  number  of  dormitory  cars  on  all-night  trains, 
and  restaurant  cars  are  obligatory  over  certain 
distances.  Every  train  carries  a  letter-box,  and 
recently  the  companies  have  been  squeezed  into 
carrying  the  mails  for  nothing.  A  medicine  chest,  a 
stretcher,  a  bicycle — so  that  quick  communication  can 
be  made  with  the  nearest  station  in  case  of  accident 
— and  all  sorts  of  necessities  in  case  of  a  breakdown 
are  compulsory.  Every  carriage  is  thoroughly  dis- 
infected every  month,  and  there  is  always  a  card 
to  be  initialled  by  an  inspector.  All  bedding  and 
mattresses  are  subject  to  scientific  disinfection  such 
as  I  have  seen  nowhere  in  Europe. 

No  time-tables  can  be  altered  without  the  sanc- 

E 


50  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

tion  of  the  National  Railway  Board  at  least  two 
months  before  coming  into  operation.  If  trains 
stop  at  stations  for  which  they  are  not  scheduled  a 
heavy  fine  is  imposed ;  and  all  late  trains,  and  the 
reason,  have  to  be  reported  to  the  Government 
authority.  No  alteration,  however  small,  to  a  station 
building  or  to  the  design  of  rolling  stock  is  permis- 
sible without  the  sanction  of  the  Government  repre- 
sentatives. A  complaint  book  is  at  every  station, 
open  to  anyone  to  complain  on  any  subject.  Guards 
also  keep  a  book.  Many  of  the  complaints  are 
amusing.  I  heard  of  one  man  who  insisted  on 
writing  in  the  complaint  book  that  "  everything  was 
in  perfect  order  and  the  staff  faultless."  Occasion- 
ally passengers  will  have  a  dispute,  and  whilst  one 
will  find  fault  in  the  complaint  book  with  the  manners 
of  the  train  attendants,  another  will  write  beneath 
that  the  attendants  are  all  right,  and  it  is  the  com- 
plainant's manners  which  are  at  fault. 

There  are  the  usual  buffers  in  front  of  an  engine ; 
but  they  are  all  hinged,  and  have  to  be  hoisted 
backwards  when  a  train  is  travelling,  because  if  an 
animal  were  run  into,  the  cow-catcher  might  not  be 
able  to  throw  the  beast  aside,  for  it  could  be  caught 
between  the  catcher  and  the  protruding  buffer. 
Though,  on  the  face  of  it,  the  Government  subjects 
the  companies  to  innumerable  restrictions,  and 
frequently  imposes  vexatious  regulations,  it  must 
be  recognised  that  public  safety  is  the  thought 
behind  them  all. 

The  Republic  lives  by  its  exports  of  meat  and 


LATEST    TYPE    OF     PASSENGER    LOCOMOTIVE. 


LATEST    TYPE    OF    DINING    CAR. 


RAILWAY   DEVELOPMENT  51 

agricultural  produce.  Ninety-five  per  cent,  of  this 
trade  is  carried  to  the  ports  by  the  railways.  From 
the  railroad  cars  one  beholds  productiveness;  yet 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  away  lies  land  just  as  pro- 
ductive but  as  yet  untouched  by  the  plough,  because 
there  is  neither  sufficient  population  to  cultivate  nor 
railways  to  carry.  Within  the  next  dozen  years 
there  must  inevitably  be  a  further  spurt  in  the 
making  of  feeding  or  auxiliary  lines.  Something  like 
£20,000,000  a  year  is  crossing  the  ocean  for  fresh 
railway  enterprises  in  Argentina.  Nearly  40,000,000 
tons  of  goods  are  carried  over  the  lines  each  year, 
and  the  receipts  are  something  like  £25,000,000 
annually.  And  yet  but  a  fragment  of  the  harvest 
of  this  new  land  is  being  garnered.  Its  untrodden 
millions  of  acres  await  new  railways  to  open  up 
the  country. 


CHAPTER  V 

SETTLEMENT   ON   THE   LAND 

Prolific  though  Argentina  is,  and  though  its  agri- 
cultural wealth  has  only  been  scratched,  it  cannot 
be  described  as  an  ideal  country  for  the  poor  immi- 
grant. The  eyes  of  the  land  have  been  well  picked, 
and  there  are  rich  personal  estates  covering  one 
hundred  and  fifty  square  miles. 

There  is  little  disposition  to  voluntary  splitting  up 
of  estates,  but  rather  to  hold  whilst  annually  the  value 
increases  with  the  coming  of  people  and  the  advance- 
ment of  railways.  The  Government  is  doing  some- 
thing to  assist  the  small  man  with  limited  capital 
to  settle  on  distant  Government  lands.  But  the 
poor  immigrant,  with  nothing  but  his  muscle  and 
his  industry,  has  a  long  and  rough  road  to  travel 
before  he  reaches  independence  as  a  landed  pro- 
prietor. It  is  a  hard  land  in  which  to  start  making 
a  fortune  ;  but  the  man  of  money  who  can  step  into 
the  Republic,  say,  with  £25,000  to  play  with,  and 
who  invests  judiciously,  can  double  his  capital  in 
three  years. 

Whilst  the  old  Argentines,  those  of  Spanish 
descent,  have  waxed  wealthy  simply  by  sitting  still 
and  letting  the  foreigner  develop  their  property, 
there  are  British  Argentine  families  whose  estates, 

52 


SETTLEMENT   ON   THE    LAND         53 

if  realised,  would  produce  double-figured  millions, 
and  whose  proprietors  landed  as  labourers  less  than 
fifty  years  ago.  Money  has  come  to  lots  of  these 
people,  shrewd  and  lucky,  as  though  they  held  the 
key  to  a  cave  of  jewels.  Some  have  remained 
modest  in  spite  of  possessions ;  others  look  upon 
gold  as  the  only  god,  and  their  blatant  display  at 
Mar  del  Plata,  and  on  the  steamers  of  the  Royal 
Mail  Company,  is  something  which  would  make  the 
conduct  of  the  new  rich  of  Chicago  Quakerish  by 
comparison. 

The  cry  of  Argentina,  like  that  of  all  new  lands, 
is  for  population.  Over  300,000  fresh  arrivals  land 
annually  from  all  corners  of  the  earth,  Russia,  Syria, 
France,  Germany,  and  England,  but  mainly  from 
Spain  and  Italy.  Whilst  the  Spaniard  comes  to  stay, 
there  is  a  considerable  ebb  and  flow  amongst  the 
Italians,  thousands  coming  out  for  the  harvest  when 
wages  are  high,  and  making  sufficient  to  return  for 
the  rest  of  the  year ;  then  they  return  for  the  next 
harvest.  Allowing  for  the  ebb,  Argentina  gets  a 
solid  increase  in  population  by  immigration  of  over 
250,000  persons  a  year,  and  there  are  no  assisted 
passages  and  no  offers  of  free  land. 

At  each  of  the  ports  are  Government  hotels  for 
immigrants.  That  at  Buenos  Aires  accommodates 
a  thousand  people.  The  new  arrival,  instead  of 
being  distraught  at  landing  in  a  strange  country,  or 
possibly  falling  a  prey  to  its  sharks,  is  housed  and 
fed  for  five  days  as  the  guest  of  his  new  country. 
Careful  inquiry  is  made  as  to  capabilities,  and,  as 


54  THE  AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

there  is  a  never-satisfied  demand  from  the  interior 
for  labourers,  work  is  certain,  and  officials  see  him 
and  his  baggage  on  the  train,  and  an  official  meets 
him  at  his  destination  and  sees  him  firmly  settled 
in  his  fresh  life.  As  work  is  assured,  Argentina  is 
a  land  where  there  are  no  unemployed — except 
amongst  the  dissolute,  who  are  to  be  found  in  all 
countries.  I  saw  these  immigrants  on  the  Avon 
gathered  at  Vigo,  and  I  saw  them  in  distant  pro- 
vinces, and  I  was  struck  with  their  sturdiness  and 
health.  I  place  on  record  that  I  never  saw  a  drunken 
man  during  all  my  wanderings  in  the  Republic. 
Blessed  with  a  fine  climate,  and  the  winter  so  temper- 
ate that  fires  are  not  necessary,  Ufe  is  easy,  and 
there  is  no  crushing  into  towns  for  work,  as  is  usual 
in  Canada  during  the  frozen  months. 

Owing  to  such  immense  tracts  being  held  by  indi- 
vidual owners — many  of  whom  prefer  the  pleasures 
of  Paris  and  Buenos  Aires  to  living  on  the  land  where 
the  cereals  are  grown — most  of  the  cultivation  is 
done  by  "  colonists."  The  system  varies  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  but  the  general  procedure  is 
much  on  these  lines.  In  a  little  centre  of  population, 
maybe  a  village,  but  important  because  those  who 
live  many  miles  round  are  dependent  upon  it  for 
supplies,  is  to  be  found  a  store  where  most  things 
can  be  bought,  from  a  plough  to  a  tin  kettle.  The 
storekeeper  enters  into  a  contract  with  the  owner 
of  vast  lands  to  cultivate  it,  either  on  rent  or  on 
shares  of  the  value  of  the  produce.  This  store- 
keeper is  a  middleman,  often  a  sweater.    Though  I 


VIEW    OF    GRAZING    LANDS. 


»rf jL:»iiiiiii'ii.ia^'i  ''iiir  r ..  s '"'     '        > '^^ ^jo^^ii^^bHiii^Mr^^jUia^ 


A    DRINKING    PLAGE    ON    AN    ESTANCIA. 


SETTLEMENT   ON   THE   LAND         55 

have  no  doubt  there  are  honourable  exceptions,  he 
is  often  a  thief  into  the  bargain.  He  gets  a  "  colon- 
ist "  to  take  over  a  certain  area  and  to  cultivate  it 
on  shares.  The  "  colonist "  has  to  build  a  mud 
house,  and  sink  a  well,  and  he  has  to  buy  his  plough 
and  hire  his  horses,  and  obtain  all  necessaries  from 
the  middleman,  who  can  fix  his  own  price.  When 
the  wheat  or  the  maize  is  gathered  the  only  man 
to  whom  the  "  colonist "  can  sell  is  the  middleman, 
who  has  it  very  much  in  his  own  hands  to  say  what 
the  price  shall  be,  and  he  frequently  furnishes  the 
ignorant  "  colonist "  with  false  returns  as  to  quan- 
tity. But  even  then  he  keeps  back  what  is  owing 
on  agricultural  implements  and  loaned  horses,  with 
the  consequence  that  the  poor  fellow  has  very  little 
— if  any — margin.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  "  colonists  "  are  in  the  grip  of  the  middlemen, 
and  it  is  with  difficulty  they  are  ever  able  to  break 
free. 

Of  course,  the  middleman  runs  risk  of  little  return 
if  there  is  drought  and  a  bad  harvest,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  when  he  proceeds  to  sell  the  wheat  he 
finds  himself  encompassed  by  a  ring  of  four  Jewish 
firms,  who  control  the  wheat  market  of  the  Argentine. 
The  whole  practice  is  vicious,  and  I  cannot  but  think 
that  before  long  the  Government  will  have  to  take 
the  matter  in  hand. 

Admitting  the  exquisite  climate,  and  the  fertility 
of  the  soil,  and  Nature's  quick  response  to  light 
work,  the  lives  of  these  "  colonists  "  in  the  distant 
camp  is  sad.     Men  of  the  Basque  country,  the  north 


56  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

of  Spain,  the  north  of  Italy,  they  come  from  the 
homeland,  where  means  of  livelihood  were  sparse,  to 
this  new  land,  where,  although  the  chances  are  rather 
against  them  to  secure  independence,  their  material 
well-being  is  certainly  better  than  in  the  Old  Country. 
But  they  are  ignorant  people ;  they  know  nothing  of, 
and  so  care  nothing  for,  the  refinements  of  life  ;  their 
houses  are  not  much  better  than  kraals.  They  are 
removed  by  long  distances  from  neighbours  ;  they 
live  on  a  featureless  plain,  and  have  no  communica- 
tion with  the  outer  world ;  they  cannot  read,  and 
books  and  newspapers  are  foreign  to  them.  Their 
world  is  fringed  by  the  horizon.  A  visit  to  the  way- 
side station,  where,  maybe,  one  train  a  day  passes, 
is  their  excitement.  There  are  no  schools  and  no 
religious  instruction.     Their  moral  standard  is  low. 

Many  of  these  "  colonists  "  take  to  farming  with 
a  minimum  of  practical  knowledge.  Yet,  though  I 
have  just  drawn  a  rueful  picture,  I  would  not  have 
it  thought  there  are  no  illuminating  spots.  A 
valuable  work  is  being  carried  on  in  agricultural 
instruction.  On  several  occasions  I  came  across 
specially-built  railway  cars  in  which  lecturers  travel 
all  over  the  Republic  and  freely  give  advice  to  the 
peons  how  to  get  most  out  of  the  soil.  During 
the  last  seven  years  (since  1907)  the  Govern- 
ment has  zealously  appreciated  the  need  for  organ- 
ising the  agricultural  and  live-stock  instruction. 
The  work  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
splendid  agricultural  colleges  to  be  found  all  over 
the   United   States.      The   significant    thing,    how- 


SETTLEMENT    ON    THE    LAND         57 

ever,  is  that  the  people  of  the  Argentine — perfectly 
conscious  of  all  the  advantages  of  science,  and  with 
most  of  its  best  sons  educated  in  Europe — have 
taken  hold  of  this  problem  of  how  to  train  its  popu- 
lation to  get  the  best  out  of  the  soil.  So  schools 
are  being  formed  over  the  country  where  information 
can  be  obtained  about  the  special  productivity  of 
particular  districts,  about  the  growing  of  grasses, 
the  feeding  and  care  of  beasts,  milk  production, 
sugar  -  growing,  cheese  -  making,  market  -  gardening, 
fruit-rearing,  and  in  far  western  Mendoza  I  came 
across  a  college  that  is  making  instructive  experi- 
ments in  viticulture. 

Besides  agricultural  courses  at  the  Universities, 
there  is  much  done  by  way  of  University  extension 
lectures  ;  but  instead  of  lectures  about  sea-power 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  or  the  relationship  of 
Henry  VIII.  to  Rome,  the  lectures  are  on  the  breed- 
ing of  cattle,  the  raising  of  maize,  the  sowing  of 
alfalfa. 

It  was  my  fortune  to  meet  many  cultured  and 
travelled  Argentines,  but,  summing  the  people  in 
a  lump,  and  excluding  the  viciousness  which  trails 
behind  the  wealth  of  Buenos  Aires,  and  also  making 
allowance  for  the  lack  of  that  virility  and  perseverance 
of  those  strong  men  who  are  fighting  the  big  battle 
in  Canada,  the  thing  which  constantly  confronted 
me  was  the  fact  that  here  in  South  America  was  a 
nation,  born  yesterday,  thoroughly  alive  to  the 
worth  of  its  possessions,  brusquely  modem,  content 
with  nothing  but  the  latest  appliances  and  machinery 


58  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

and  thoroughly  determined  that,  in  the  contest 
amongst  the  widespread  agricultural  lands  to  supply 
food  to  the  millions  in  crowded  Europe,  Argentina 
will  not  be  satisfied  with  an  inferior  position. 

In  a  subsequent  chapter  I  will  deal  with  what 
has  already  been  accomplished  in  this  field.  Here, 
however,  I  limit  myself  to  pointing  out  that  Argen- 
tina is  increasing  her  capabilities  with  a  purely 
practical  education.  Men  who  can  neither  read  nor 
write,  but  have  come  under  the  influence  of  these 
itinerant  schools,  can  talk  with  scientific  knowledge 
about  their  trade  of  food  producing,  be  it  meat 
or  cereals. 

Now  another  step  is  being  made,  and  I  trust  with 
happy  results  in  view  of  the  unfortunate  position  of 
the  *'  colonists."  So  successful  has  been  the  agri- 
cultural instruction  during  the  past  half  dozen  years, 
that  the  next  thing  is  to  develop  the  commercial 
spirit  so  that  the  farmer  may  have  some  chance 
of  getting  a  fair  return  for  his  labour.  Free  lectures 
are  given  on  the  business  side  of  agriculture.  Then, 
attached  to  the  schools  are  special  buildings  for 
experiments;  and  boarded  pupils,  the  sons  of  men 
who  understand  the  money  value  of  knowledge,  are 
given  a  thorough  training.  So  that  all  may  benefit 
there  are  free  scholarships,  and  I  found  that  prefer- 
ence is  given  to  competitors  who  come  from  districts, 
suitable  for  a  special  industry,  where  schools  have 
not  yet  been  established. 

Anyone  who  visits  the  school  for  viticulture  in 
Mendoza,  for  agriculture  and  live  stock  in  Cordoba, 


SETTLEMENT  ON   THE    LAND         59 

and  for  arboriculture  and  sugar-making  in  Tucuman 
— and  I  saw  all  three — comes  away  nothing  less 
than  amazed  at  the  way  these  transplanted  Latins, 
away  south  of  the  Equator  and  across  six  thousand 
miles  of  ocean,  are  making  headway — and  the  start 
only  begun  a  few  years  ago.  There  is  the  real  spirit 
of  enthusiasm  combined  with  an  optimism  which 
to  a  man  from  a  staid  old  country  seems  exagger- 
ated until,  seeing  what  has  been  done,  imagination 
is  allowed  to  jump  freely  into  the  future.  At  Men- 
doza,  nestling  at  the  foot  of  the  Andes  and  reminiscent 
of  a  town  in  Tuscany,  where  the  whole  countryside 
is  covered  with  vineyards  and  wine  is  being  made 
to  supply  millions  of  wine  drinkers  in  the  country 
— for  the  Argentine  peasant  takes  wine  with  his 
breakfast — experiments  are  made  with  the  best 
known  vines  from  Europe  on  a  farm  of  sixty-seven 
acres,  so  that  grapes  suitable  to  the  soil  may  be 
matured.  At  Cordoba  the  school  has  445  acres,  and 
investigation  is  made  to  secure  earlier  and  higher 
yields,  and  with  special  attention  to  obtaining 
varieties  which  have  powers  of  resisting  drought. 
The  same  sort  of  thing  goes  on  at  Tucuman.  The 
sugar  industry  is  increasing  at  astonishing  speed. 
Many  men  with  scant  practical  knowledge  are 
attracted  to  it.  The  school  gives  them  instruction 
and  will  send  members  of  the  technical  staff  to  the 
sugar  factories  and  distilleries  to  give  assistance. 
Facts  like  these  argue  that  Argentina  is  a  country 
really  to  be  reckoned  with,  and  is  not  to  be  dis- 
missed— as  I  have  heard  it  dismissed  in  England, 


6o  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

even  amongst  those  who  consider  themselves  edu- 
cated— as  a  rubbishy  South  American  Republic, 
whose  only  crop  is  revolutions. 

All  over  the  Republic  "  regional  schools "  are 
being  set  up  to  provide  instruction,  not  in  general 
agricultural  subjects,  but  in  regard  to  the  special 
requirements  of  the  locality — for  Argentina  varies 
in  climate  from  tropical  in  the  north  to  stern  cold 
in  the  south ;  dairying,  with  a  model  dairy,  at  Belle 
Ville ;  fruit  culture  at  San  Juan ;  forestry  in  the 
Benitz  colony.  A  scheme  has  been  devised  to  equip 
Argentina  with  agricultural  knowledge  by  means  of 
courses  for  children  and  adults,  travelling  lecturers, 
information  bureaus,  co-operative  experiments, 
regional  shows,  encouragement  of  agricultural 
societies,  organisation  of  regional  agricultural  ex- 
perts and  military  farms.  Further,  the  National 
Government  have  done  an  enormous  service  in 
providing  irrigation  works  in  regions  where  the 
rainfall  is  uncertain. 

It  has  to  be  admitted  that  some  areas  are  sub- 
ject to  drought,  and  this  and  other  evils  have  to  be 
taken  into  consideration  when  reviewing  the  agri- 
cultural growth  of  a  country  like  Argentina,  which 
lives  by  its  produce,  and  which  in  1912  exported 
£36,000,000  worth  of  live-stock  products  and 
£53,000,000  worth  of  agricultural  products.  Given 
good  years,  the  estanciero  in  average  country  makes 
30  per  cent,  on  the  year.  He  can  afford  to  have  one 
bad  year  in  three  and  yet  be  prosperous.  But 
although  districts  suffer,  the  area  of  the  country  is 


The  irons  are  heated  by  fire  made  of  bones  of  dead  cattle. 


Putting  cattle  through  the  chute. 
BRANDING    CALVES    ON    AN    ESTANCIA. 


SETTLEMENT    ON  THE   LAND         6i 

so  vast  that  losses  are  swamped  in    general    pro- 
sperity. 

As  the  older  countries  of  the  world  concern  them- 
selves with  national  defence,  Argentina  has  established 
a  Department  of  Agricultural  Defence,  chiefly  to 
fight  the  plague  of  locusts,  which  can  eat  out  a  whole 
district  in  a  single  night.  I  recall  in  Cordoba  Pro- 
vince seeing  in  the  distance  what  looked  like  a  cloud 
of  smoke.  It  was  a  storm  of  locusts,  so  dense  as  it 
passed  that  midday  was  reduced  to  twilight.  The 
locust  blights  the  land — it  is  the  enemy.  The  locust 
is  the  thing  which  makes  the  farmer  shudder.  When 
it  comes  it  not  only  devours  every  blade  of  grass 
within  miles,  but  it  lays  its  eggs  in  untold  millions. 
The  pest  has  to  be  destroyed.  The  Government 
readily  assists  localities  to  destroy  the  ova.  The 
route  of  the  swarms  from  the  tropical  north  is  known. 
The  telegraph  tells  of  the  progress.  When  they  land, 
the  countryside  turns  out  and  catches  them  by 
the  cartload.  Sometimes  the  district  in  which  they 
have  settled  is  fired.  The  whole  zone  where  eggs 
have  been  planted  is  ploughed.  Animals  are  driven 
forth  to  trample  the  pest.  The  Government  has  in 
its  possession  over  20,000,000  yards  of  metallic 
barriers  to  make  a  line  of  defence,  and  when  a  swarm 
is  penned  it  is  suffocated,  burnt,  or  trampled.  The 
Government  not  only  has  its  inspectors  out,  is  ever 
ready  to  meet  and  repel  the  locust  invasion  from 
Brazil  and  Bolivia  with  suitable  appliances,  but  gives 
financial  assistance  to  those  who  help  in  the  exter- 
mination.    The  Argentines  are  determined  to  stop 


62  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

this  pest.    The  way  they  are  setting  about  the  work 
is  evidence  of  their  earnestness. 

The  point  I  specially  desire  to  make,  however, 
is  that  farming  in  Argentina  is  not  all  casual,  but 
is  becoming  a  developed  national  industry.  There 
are  many  things  to  criticise  about  the  Government ; 
there  is  maladministration  and  there  is  peculation. 
But  that  so  much  has  been  accomplished,  notwith- 
standing these  drawbacks,  accentuates  the  wonders 
of  progress. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Argentina's  part  in  feeding  the  world 

It  is  well  to  mark  that  of  the  British  food  supply 
from  overseas  Argentina  provides  one  quarter.  Each 
person  in  the  Republic,  after  providing  enough  food 
to  supply  himself,  sends  at  least  £8  worth  of  food 
to  other  countries. 

Argentina  covers  776  million  acres.  Eighty 
million  acres  are  suitable  for  wheat,  but  only  one- 
fourth  of  this  area  is  cultivated.  The  population  is 
growing  rapidly ;  it  is  now  over  seven  millions,  and 
is  being  increased  by  about  a  quarter  of  a  million 
immigrants  every  year ;  but  still  the  cry  is  for  more 
inhabitants. 

At  present  there  are  six  persons  to  the  square 
mile ;  but  when  you  remember  that  the  province  of 
Buenos  Aires  has  a  population  of  two  and  a  half 
millions,  you  find  the  population  for  the  outside 
areas  is  just  under  two  per  square  mile. 

Three-quarters  of  the  population  are  Argentines  ; 
everyone  born  in  the  country,  no  matter  from  what 
land  the  parents  come,  is  reckoned  an  Argentine. 
Of  the  new-comers  half  a  million  are  Italian,  a 
quarter  million  Spanish,  a  tenth  of  a  million  French  ; 
then  come  the  British,  numbering  25,000  ;  Germans 
18,000;     Swiss   15,000;     Austrians   13,000,    and   so 

63 


64  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

on,  decreasingly.  North  Americans  are  few,  though 
within  recent  years  much  United  States  capital  has 
quietly  taken  hold  of  certain  industries.  Argentina 
is  capable  of  carrying  a  population  of  fifty  millions, 
and  it  will  secure  them  within  the  next  half-century. 
In  race,  language,  customs,  religion,  it  is  especially 
•  favourable  to  folk  from  the  thronged  Latin  countries 
of  Europe. 

Every  settler  becomes  a  violent  Argentine.  The 
emphatic  patriotism  of  the  American  is  tepid  along- 
side the  hot-blooded  nationality  of  Argentina.  It  is 
daily  inculcated  in  the  schools.  The  blue  and  white 
striped  flag  is  honoured  on  every  occasion.  You 
are  poetically  reminded  it  is  of  the  blue  of  the  sky. 
When  the  Argentines  were  in  revolution  against 
Spain  in  1810,  and  needed  a  banner  to  flaunt  against 
the  red  and  orange  of  the  enemy,  they  got  pieces 
of  blue  and  white  cloth  (intended  for  garments)  from 
an  English  warship  lying  at  Montevideo,  and  made 
a  flag  of  it.  So  the  Argentine  flag,  like  much  of 
Argentine  prosperity,  is  due  to  Britain. 

In  proportion  to  the  population  there  are  as 
many  millionaires  in  Argentina  as  in  the  United 
States.  There  are  sturdy  old  fellows,  who  can 
hardly  write  their  names,  who  scarcely  know  the 
extent  of  their  wealth.  Fifty  years  ago  an  Irish 
labourer  landed  in  the  country.  He  died  the  other 
day  worth  over  £4,000,000. 

It  is  none  of  my  business  to  boom  land  values 
in  Argentina.  Though  the  tendency  of  late  has  been 
a  little  too  buoyant,  I  know  of  no  land  where  there 


FEEDING   THE    WORLD  63 

have  been  such  enormous  heaves  in  values,  not 
fictitiously  hoisted,  but  legitimate  on  development 
of  commerce,  as  in  this  Republic.  In  1885  you 
could  buy  land  in  the  centre  of  Buenos  Aires  at 
2s.  6d.  a  square  yard.  Now  you  must  pay  £200  a 
yard.  A  suburban  plot  of  CO  by  20  yards,  which 
you  could  have  got  twelve  years  ago  for  £5,  will 
cost  £150.  Fine  camp  land — ^the  "  camp  "  is  the 
Argentine  name  for  farming  districts — which  could 
be  got  for  a  song  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  will 
now  fetch  £100,000  the  square  league  (three  miles). 
I  know  a  plot  of  land  at  Rosario  which  has  jumped 
in  value  from  £2,000  to  £40,000  in  twenty  years. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  Argentine  million- 
aires are  made.  In  the  wars  with  neighbouring 
Republics  Argentine  officers  were  given  tracts  of 
country  in  lieu  of  pay  :  of  small  value  then,  but 
their  descendants  are  fabulously  wealthy.  The  care- 
ful Briton  who  came  out  when  railways  were  begin- 
ning to  speed  through  the  country,  and  acted  shrewdly, 
got  land  for  next  to  nothing  which  will  bring  a  bettei 
price  per  acre  than  land  in  the  home  counties.  I 
am  writing  this  in  mid-Atlantic  on  my  way  home, 
and  each  morning  on  deck  I  exchange  a  bow  with 
an  old  lady  who  owns  180  square  miles  of  the  finest 
agricultural  land  in  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires. 

In  a  previous  chapter  my  pen  was  somewhat 
free  about  the  ostentation  of  the  Argentine.  But 
the  display  of  wealth  is  frequently  put  to  a  good 
purpose.  When  a  fabulous  price  is  paid  for  a  Derby 
winner  it  is  an  Argentine  who  has  found  the  money. 
F 


66  THE  AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Argentina  has  a  fine  breed  of  horses.  As  the  cattle 
industry  is  so  important,  the  best  stock  is  purchased 
at  home.  I  went  to  the  agricultural  show  in  Septem- 
ber, 1913.  All  the  judges  had  been  brought  out 
from  England,  partly  because  good  judging  was 
needed,  but  chiefly,  I  fear,  because  the  Argentines 
cannot  trust  each  other  to  give  unbiassed  decisions. 
The  show  was  finer  housed  than  any  royal  show  in 
England,  and  the  quality  of  the  exhibits  was  quite 
on  a  level  with  anything  we  can  produce.  The  prize 
bull,  Argentine  bred,  was  sold  by  auction  for  over 
£7,000.  Admitted  this  was  a  fancy  price  due  to 
the  rivalry  of  breeders  to  have  the  best  and  to  boast 
about  it.  A  thousand  pounds  has  been  paid  by  a 
meat  company  for  a  Hereford  bull  to  kill ;  but  this 
may  be  ascribed  to  advertisement. 

The  estancias — ranches  or  stations — are  frequently 
enormous  in  extent,  as  wide  as  an  English  county, 
and  are  managed  as  well  as  any  great  estates  in 
Australia,  Canada,  or  New  Zealand.  There  are  the 
usual  show  places,  maintained  by  Anglo-Argentines, 
where  the  immediate  grounds  are  laid  out  like  an 
English  park,  the  farm  buildings  all  on  the  model 
plan,  and  the  animals  of  the  best  stock,  whilst  a 
successful  endeavour  is  made  toward  converting  the 
house  into  something  palatial.  Though  some  estan- 
cias are  far  inland,  and  distant  from  a  railway  line, 
life  is  far  more  enjoyable  than  might  be  thought. 
The  rich  estanciero,  however,  spends  little  of  his 
time  on  his  land.  He  is  too  often  an  absentee  land- 
lord.   He  has  tasted  the  joys  of  Europe ;    besides. 


FEEDING    THE    WORLD  67 

his  wife  and  daughters  are  inclined  to  prefer  Buenos 
Aires  to  Hfe  in  the  camp,  however  healthy.  The 
place  is  usually  run  by  a  manager.  Then  there  are 
sub-managers,  often  young  Englishmen  who  have 
heard  of  the  fortunes  to  be  made  ;  next  there  are  the 
peons,  Spaniards  and  Italians,  who  do  the  meaner 
work.  Life  in  the  camp  is  arduous.  Men  are  out 
at  dawn,  rounding  up  cattle,  giving  an  eye  to  the 
*'  colonists,"  attending  to  fencing,  driving  beasts 
to  the  railway  station  to  be  transferred  to  the 
"  freezers,"  and  it  is  sundown  when  the  work  is 
over  and  men  go  to  their  quarters.  It  is  a  stren- 
uous life,  and  the  employees  have  little  of  the 
pleasures  of  civilisation. 

Within  the  last  ten  years  the  export  value  of 
live  stock  products  has  increased  from  £23,000,000 
to  £36,000,000,  and  agricultural  products  from 
£21,000,000  to  £53,000,000.  Since  1896  the  area 
under  cultivation  has  grown  from  13  million  acres 
to  nearly  50  million  acres.  Of  Argentine  cereals 
the  United  Kingdom  imported  1,654,000  tons.  There 
are  30  million  cattle  in  the  Republic  and  80  million 
sheep.  The  breeding  of  sheep  is  not  what  it  was, 
because  the  Argentine  finds  he  can  get  a  better 
return  from  cattle  and  cereals.  So,  whilst  the  value 
of  exported  mutton  remains  very  much  what  it  was 
ten  years  ago  (about  £1,250,000),  the  value  of  the 
exported  chilled  and  frozen  beef  has  risen  from 
£1,500,000  to  over  £6,000,000  a  year. 

At  the  ports  are  big  slaughtering  establishments, 
some  belonging  to  Argentine  companies,  and  others 


68  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

to  American  companies.  A  bitter  feud  is  being 
waged  to  capture  the  chilled  and  frozen  meat  trade, 
especially  in  the  English  market.  As  England  is 
only  three  weeks'  distance,  meat  that  is  only  chilled 
has  an  enormous  advantage  over  meat  from  more 
distant  countries  which  must  be  frozen.  The  fact 
is  denied,  but  it  may  be  taken  as  certain  that  there 
is  a  big  combination  of  Chicago  houses  endeavouring 
to  squeeze  their  competitors  out  of  business — and 
they  seem  in  a  fair  way  to  succeed.  The  Argentine 
public  are  showing  fright,  and  there  have  been 
frantic  appeals  to  Congress  that  steps  be  taken  to 
check  the  creation  of  a  trust.  Also  it  is  hoped  that 
England  may  take  action.  But  the  authorities  in 
both  countries  decline  to  do  anything.  The  Chicago 
firms  have  a  long  purse  and  are  damaging  their  rivals 
at  both  ends,  first  by  paying  Argentine  cattle  breeders 
unprecedented  prices  for  beasts,  and  then  by  selling 
the  meat  below  cost  price  in  the  Smithfield  market. 
Of  course,  in  reply  to  what  is  happening,  one  hears 
the  statement,  '*  Why  grumble,  when  the  Argentine 
cattle  dealer  gets  a  high  price  for  his  beasts,  the 
London  consumer  gets  cheap  meat,  and  the  Chicago 
firms  pay  the  difference  ?  "  That  is  true.  But  it 
does  not  need  much  business  foresight  to  under- 
stand that  when  the  Anglo-Argentine  companies 
are  bankrupt  the  Chicago  trust,  having  the  game  in 
their  own  hands,  will  pay  their  own  price  for  cattle 
and  lift  the  price  of  meat  in  London.  Meanwhile, 
the  Argentine  estanciero  is  quite  happy,  and  is  willing 
to  let  the  future  take  care  of  itself.     One  thing, 


FEEDING   THE   WORLD  69 

however,  may  safely  be  prophesied.  The  Argentine 
Government  has  a  drastic  way  of  doing  things.  If 
the  expected  happens,  and  the  Chicago^houses  secure 
the  meat  industry  and  begin  to  force  down  prices 
for  cattle,  there  will  not  be  the  slightest  hesitation 
in  passing  a  law  which  will  make  things  uncomfort- 
able for  the  trust. 

With  the  care  taken  in  breeding,  always  striving 
after  improving  the  strain  of  the  stock,  Argentina, 
with  its  millions  of  acres  of  pasturage,  is  determined 
not  to  slacken  the  stride  of  its  improving  meat 
trade.  The  best  lands  are  given  to  wheat,  maize, 
oats  ;  but  the  use  of  alfalfa  has  meant  an  amazing 
expansion  of  productivity,  for  this  nutritious  plant, 
a  kind  of  sanfoil,  will  grow  abundantly  on  land  that 
is  little  good  for  other  purposes.  Areas  at  which 
the  agriculturist  was  inclined  to  shrug  his  shoulders 
as  barren  prosper  under  alfalfa,  the  best  of  feeding 
stuffs,  and  several  crops  can  be  got  in  a  year.  Two 
acres  will  carry  a  beast.  Alfalfa  grown  for  fodder 
gives  a  hundred  per  cent,  profit.  Alfalfa,  whilst 
drawing  nitrogen  from  the  ground,  attracts  nitrogen 
from  the  air.  One  ton  of  alfalfa  conta.ins  50  lb. 
of  nitrogen.  Three  tons  of  alfalfa  has  as  much 
nitrogen  as  two  tons  of  wheat.  It  is  easy  to  grow, 
and  cattle  fatten  on  it  abundantly.  The  alfalfa  of 
Argentina  means  more  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
country  than  rich  gold  mines.  As  there  is  no  winter, 
as  we  understand  it,  the  cattle  are  left  out  all  the 
year,  and  there  is  no  stalling  or  hand  feeding. 

Cattle  disease  is  more  prevalent  than  with  us. 


70  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

This  is  partly  due  to  carelessness,  but  chiefly  to  the 
herds  being  so  large  that  the  scourge  becomes 
virulent  before  it  is  noticed.  Then,  as  I  have  in- 
dicated, there  is  the  danger  of  drought  and  the 
dread  of  locusts.  Further,  so  much  of  the  cereal 
growing  being  in  the  hands  of  "  colonists,"  too 
often  anything  but  expert  farmers,  the  yield  is  by 
no  means  what  it  would  be  if  the  farming  were  in 
more  skilled  hands.  So,  whilst  the  average  yield 
of  wheat  in  Great  Britain  is  thirty-one  bushels  to 
the  acre ;  in  Argentina  it  is  only  eleven  bushels. 
But  manuring  is  unknown  in  the  Republic. 

Yet,  keeping  one's  eyes  open  to  all  the  dis- 
advantages, one  cannot  go  through  the  country  and 
see  its  fecundity,  go  into  the  killing  houses  at  La 
Plata  and  Buenos  Aires,  watch  the  ocean  liners, 
with  the  Union  Jack  dangling  over  their  stern,  being 
loaded  with  many  sides  of  beef,  visit  the  grain  elevators 
at  the  ports  of  Bahia  Blanca  and  Rosario  pouring 
streams  of  wheat  destined  for  European  consumption 
into  the  holds  of  liners,  without  the  imagination 
being  stimulated  when  standing  on  the  threshold 
of  this  new  land's  possibilities. 

Already  Argentina  holds  first  place  in  the  quan- 
tity of  exported  frozen  meat.  It  was  in  1877  that 
the  Republic  led  the  way  in  exporting  such  meat 
to  Europe.  It  was  not  till  1885,  however,  that  the 
business  of  freezing  was  definitely  established.  To- 
day £11,000,000  is  invested  in  "  freezing  works." 
And  millions  of  cattle  and  sheep  are  slaughtered  for 
foreign  consumption.     There  seems  to  be  something 


FEEDING   THE   WORLD  n 

of  a  race  at  present  between  live  stock  products 
and  agricultural  products  which  shall  hold  first 
place  in  value  of  exports.  The  ports  of  Argentina, 
with  a  capacity  for  45  million  tons,  are  ever  busy. 
Yet  they  are  only  in  infancy. 

Like  all  new  lands,  where  enterprise  and  optimism 
frequently  leap  beyond  rigid  economics,  Argentina 
has  its  heaves  and  falls.  We  know  of  the  hundreds 
of  millions  of  foreign  capital  invested.  People  do 
not  go  to  Argentina  for  the  beauty  of  the  scenery. 
They  go  for  money-making.  Often  when  I  came 
across  some  evidence  of  Latin  sluggishness,  saw  what 
had  not  been  done,  what  might  have  been  done, 
and  then  remembered  what,  nevertheless,  had  been 
done,  I  found  myself  exclaiming  :  "  Oh,  that  this 
land  were  a  British  colony !  " 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   CONSTITUTION  AND    GOVERNMENT 

New  countries,  in  planning  their  system  of  govern- 
ment, have  advantages  over  old  lands  steeped  in 
tradition  and  hampered  by  precedent.  They  can 
profit  by  the  mistakes  of  the  older  countries,  and 
can,  more  or  less,  start  with  a  clean  slate.  As  men 
past  middle  age  are  disposed  to  think  the  young 
fellows  of  the  present  day  headstrong,  lacking  in 
ballast,  it  is  all  in  the  nature  of  things  that  the  older 
countries  should  look  with  a  somewhat  critical  eye 
upon  the  experiments  in  government  made  by 
youngsters  amongst  the  nations.  So  it  is  instruc- 
tive to  look  at  the  system  of  law  and  administration 
in  the  Republic. 

The  head  of  authority,  in  which  the  executive 
power  of  the  nation  is  vested,  is  the  President.  He 
must  be  an  Argentine,  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  being 
elected  for  six  years  can  never  be  elected  again. 
This  is  a  provision  to  prevent  a  Dictatorship.  The 
President  for  the  time  being  is  head  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  ;  he  nominates  the  judges,  selects  bishops, 
appoints  diplomatic  representatives  to  other  nations, 
and  all  the  secretaries  of  State  are  chosen  by  him. 
There  are  two  Houses,  the  Senate  and  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  ;   but  a  Minister  can  be  neither  a  senator 

72 


CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT  73 

nor  a  deputy.  He  can  attend  debates,  speak  and 
defend  himself  from  criticism,  but  he  is  beyond 
the  power  of  either  House.  If  he  Ukes,  he  need 
appear  only  once  a  year  in  Congress  to  make  an 
annual  report  about  the  working  of  his  Department. 
So  he  is  removed  from  the  constant  cross-examina- 
tion which  is  the  fate  of  Ministers  in  the  British 
Houses  of  Parliament. 

The  Senate  consists  of  thirty  members,  two  from 
the  capital  and  two  from  each  province.  Those 
sent  from  Buenos  Aires  are  elected  by  certain  high 
franchised  electors,  and  those  from  outside  are 
nominated  by  the  provincial  legislatures.  A  senator 
must  be  thirty  years  of  age,  must  have  been  a  citizen 
of  the  Republic  for  at  least  six  years,  and  have  a 
personal  income  of  £160  a  year.  A  senator  is  elected 
for  nine  years,  and  can  offer  himself  for  re-election. 
But  every  three  years  ten  senators  of  the  thirty, 
decided  by  ballot,  must  retire,  though  they  can  be 
re-chosen.  No  "  carpet-bagging "  is  allowed.  A 
senator  must  either  be  a  native  of  his  province*  or 
have  lived  in  it  for  at  least  two  years  before  his 
election.  The  provinces  vary  considerably  in  popu- 
lation, but  they  have  equal  voice  in  the  Senate. 
Thus  it  is  a  body  which  may  be  said  to  represent 
localities  rather  than  individuals. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies,  however,  is  chosen 
direct  by  the  people.  There  is  one  deputy  for  every 
thirty-three  thousand  inhabitants.  No  man  can 
become  a  candidate  unless  he  is  twenty-five  years 
of  age,  has  been  a  citizen  at  least  four  years,  born 


74  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

in  the  province,  or  lived  in  it  for  two  years.  Thus 
there  is  never  anything  in  the  nature  of  a  general 
election,  but  there  is  a  constant  movement  going  on 
to  secure  the  proper  representation  of  the  people. 

Both  senators  and  deputies  receive  a  salary  of 
£l,500  a  year,  so  they  are  the  best-paid  legislators 
in  the  world.  Both  Chambers  meet  on  May  1st  and 
adjoiu*n  on  September  30th.  Only  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  can  have  a  voice  in  taxation.  As  I  have 
shown  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  Argentine 
Government — which,  like  all  Governments,  is  open 
to  criticism — has  done  a  great  deal  in  advancing 
legislation  for  the  solid  benefit  of  the  country.  There 
cannot  be  said  to  be  government  on  party  princi- 
ples, but  the  Government  is  maintained  by  the 
followers  of  particular  men.  Politicians  in  Argentina, 
as  elsewhere,  have  their  enemies,  and  when  a  man 
has  been  elected  to  Congress  he  sometimes  dare 
not  attend,  for  that  would  mean  leaving  the  con- 
stituency, and  there  would  always  be  some  rival 
busy  sapping  his  influence.  I  was  in  Buenos  Aires 
toward  the  close  of  the  session.  Day  after  day  the 
House  met,  but  nothing  could  be  done,  for  no  quorum 
could  be  obtained.  Public  business  was  at  a  stand- 
still. It  was  proposed  the  President  should  employ 
the  police  to  search  Buenos  Aires,  arrest  legislators, 
haul  them  along,  and  thus  "  make  a  House  "  with 
locked  doors,  so  that  business  could  be  proceeded 
^ith.  Everybody  was  crying  out  against  the  scandal 
of  Congressmen  drawing  such  large  salaries  and  doing 
nothing  to  earn  them.    But  nothing  was  done. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT  75 

Besides  the  excellent  remuneration  for  not  attend- 
ing to  business,  the  Argentine  politician  has  the 
advantage  of  getting  jobs  for  all  his  relatives.  The 
majority  of  Government  employees  are  the  relatives 
of  politicians.  There  are  true  and  honourable  men 
in  political  life,  but,  so  far  as  I  could  gather,  most 
men  take  to  politics  in  Argentina  because  they  can 
do  their  families  a  good  turn.  The  only  group  that 
is  cohesive  is  that  of  the  Socialists.  Socialist  deputies 
are  on  the  increase.  Nearly  all  the  freshly  arrived 
immigrants,  Spanish  and  Italian,  when  they  get  their 
naturalisation  papers  after  a  residence  of  two  years, 
vote  Socialist. 

Now,  whilst  everything  which  affects  the  Republic 
as  a  whole  is  decided  upon  by  the  central  Govern- 
ment, each  province  has  its  local  government,  with 
governor,  two  Houses,  and  considerable  power,  quite 
independent  of  the  central  executive.  This  is  follow- 
ing the  United  States  plan.  The  principle  of  devo- 
lution is  a  good  one,  that  districts  should  administer 
their  own  affairs  without  interference  by  those  who 
cannot  know  local  circumstances.  But  Argentina 
has  frequently  the  same  trouble  that  the  United 
States  has,  and  similarly  would  like  to  get  rid  of. 
There  are  differences  in  the  provincial  laws,  so  that 
what  is  allowed  in  one  province  is  prohibited  in 
another,  with  the  consequence  that,  though  the 
process  of  trade  is  not  hampered,  it  is  often  irritated. 

Then  the  provincial  Governments,  sovereign  in 
their  own  realm,  sometimes  enact  laws  which  the 
federal   Government   declares   affect   general   condi- 


76  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

tions  in  the  Republic.  They  infringe  the  prerogative 
of  the  central  executive.  Accordingly,  the  relation- 
ship between  the  central  Government  and  the  local 
Governments  is  frequently  strained.  It  is  the  smaller 
provinces  which  cause  the  most  trouble.  Some  of 
them  have  a  population  that,  all  told,  would  not 
stock  a  fair-sized  town.  That,  however,  does  not 
diminish  their  sense  of  importance.  They  are  cock- 
a-hoop.  They  know  what  is  for  their  good ;  they 
will  pass  what  laws  they  like ;  they  are  not  going 
to  be  dictated  to  by  those  overpaid  fellows  who  go 
to  Buenos  Aires.  The  federal  Government  cannot 
use  force,  and  the  provincial  Governments  snap 
their  fingers.  For  instance,  I\Iendoza  insists  on 
printing  her  own  paper  money.  It  is  quite  clear, 
if  serious  trouble  is  to  be  avoided,  that  the  federal 
and  provincial  Governments  must  meet  in  confer- 
ence and  draw  up  hard-and-fast  rules  dealing  with 
their  respective  powers  and  limitations. 

So  far  as  the  individual  is  concerned,  the  theory 
is  liberty  and  equality.  The  stranger  has  the  same 
rights  before  the  law  as  the  citizen.  The  State,  how- 
ever, interferes  in  the  matter  of  property.  A  man 
is  not  allowed,  as  in  England,  to  leave  his  possessions 
to  whom  he  likes.  A  father  must  leave  his  wife 
and  children  four-fifths  of  his  property ;  a  husband, 
if  there  are  no  children,  must  let  half  his  belongings 
go  to  his  wife ;  an  unmarried  son  is  obliged  to  leave 
his  parents  two-thirds  of  his  property.  Only  the 
man  without  parents,  wife,  or  children  can  dispose 
of  his  property  by  testament. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT  77 

There  is  no  obligation  upon  a  foreigner  resident 
in  the  country  to  become  a  citizen  before  he  can 
start  a  trade  or  own  estate.  Two  years'  residence  is 
the  quaHfying  period  to  become  a  citizen  of  the 
RepubHc.  If  you  enter  the  public  service  you  can 
become  a  citizen  earlier.  If  you  marry  an  Argentine 
woman  you  can  become  a  citizen  right  away.  Every 
child  bom  in  Argentina,  even  though  its  parents  be 
British  and  on  a  fortnight's  visit,  and  have  no 
desire  to  change  their  nationality,  is  counted  an 
Argentine.  Thus  there  are  lots  of  residents  with  a 
dual  nationality,  Argentine  in  the  Republic,  but 
British  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

Though  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  is  that  of 
the  State,  and  other  faiths  are  not  restricted,  the 
average  Argentine  pays  little  attention  to  religion. 
He  likes  his  wife  to  go  to  church  because  it  does  her 
good.  Education  comprises  three  divisions :  prim- 
ary, secondary,  and  higher.  The  former  is  free, 
secular,  and  compulsory  for  children  between  six 
and  fourteen  years.  If  religious  instruction  is  to 
be  given  it  is  only  for  those  children  who  volun- 
tarily remain  after  school  hours  on  certain  days. 
Public  schools  are  scattered  all  over  the  Republic 
— though  there  are  extensive  districts  where  the 
population  is  thin  where  there  is  no  instruction,  and 
thousands  of  children  grow  up  illiterate — and  are 
subsidised  by  both  the  national  and  provincial 
Governments.  Also  there  are  primary  schools  for 
grown-ups,  men  whose  education  has  been  neglected, 
and  who  want  to  learn  reading,  writing,  arithmetic. 


78  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

and  elementary  history  and  geography.     This  teach- 
ing is  given  during  the  day  or  evening,  and  is  free. 

Secondary  education  for  pupils  over  fourteen 
years  is  neither  compulsory  nor  free,  though  the 
fees  only  amount  to  8s.  9d.  a  year.  This  secondary 
instruction,  quite  as  wide  in  range  as  elsewhere,  is 
given  in  national  schools,  of  which  there  are  five 
in  Buenos  Aires  and  one  in  each  of  the  capitals  of 
the  provinces,  and  normal  schools,  which  are  twenty- 
eight  in  number,  three  in  Buenos  Aires  and  the 
remainder  in  the  provinces.  Five  years  is  about  the 
length  of  tuition  at  these  schools.  Then  the  students 
can  enter  one  or  other  of  the  faculties  which  form 
the  university.  There  are  three  universities  in 
Argentina ;  the  oldest  is  in  Cordoba,  and  the  others 
are  in  Buenos  Aires  and  La  Plata.  To  qualify  in 
either  of  these  universities  for  the  practice  of  medicine, 
law,  or  engineering,  a  seven-years'  course  is  required 
for  the  former  and  a  six-years'  course  for  the  two 
latter.  Minor  terms  of  special  study  are  required 
for  qualification  as  a  chemist,  accoucheur,  dental 
surgeon,  surveyor,  or  architect.  In  order  to  obtain 
the  degree  of  doctor  in  physical  sciences  further 
studies  are  required  outside  those  of  the  faculties. 
The  university  council  cannot  grant  a  qualification 
for  a  notary  public,  which  must  be  acquired  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  particular  province  in 
which  the  applicant  seeks  permission  to  practise. 

Primary  education  in  the  capital  and  national 
territories  is  under  the  National  Ministry  of  Educa- 
tion.    In  the  provinces  it  is  under  the  control  of 


CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT  79 

the  Provincial  Council  of  Education,  who  receive 
subventions  from  the  national  exchequer  as  occa- 
sion may  require.  The  intuitive  method  is  employed 
exclusively,  and  the  whole  system  is  modelled  on 
that  of  the  United  States.  As  a  rule,  Spanish  children 
learn  Italian  from  their  classmates,  and  vice  versa. 
In  the  elementary  higher  standards,  boys  learn 
manual  labour  and  French,  and  girls  learn  French 
and  domestic  duties.  The  schools  are  well  built, 
well  ventilated,  the  rooms  are  airy,  each  child  has 
a  separate  desk,  there  is  a  medical  visit  every  day, 
and  where  schools  are  within  reach  they  are  fairly 
well  attended.  But  only  42  per  cent,  of  the  children 
in  the  Republic  who  ought  to  go  to  school  do  so. 
The  low  attendance  may  be  put  down  to  the  great 
distances  which  separate  the  children's  homes  from 
the  schools  in  the  country  districts.  Very  general 
complaints  are  heard  in  the  villages  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  schools  are  conducted,  and  the  small 
amount  of  knowledge  acquired  in  spite  of  the  flatter- 
ing picture  presented  by  the  education  authorities. 

Considerable  attention  is  paid  to  technical  educa- 
tion, which  is  largely  encouraged  throughout  the 
country  by  means  of  schools  and  training  colleges 
maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  nation.  Prominent 
among  these  institutions  stands  the  National  School 
of  Commerce,  which  trains  and  prepares  mercantile 
experts,  public  accountants,  and  sworn  translators. 
There  are  also  commercial  schools  in  Cordoba  and 
Bahia  Blanca.  These  schools  are  attended  by  about 
a  thousand  pupils,  who  receive  instruction  in  com- 


8o  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

mercial  arithmetic,  account  and  book-keeping,  French, 
German,  etc.  The  schools  are  open  to  both  sexes, 
and  in  them  the  pupils  can  qualify  for  employment 
as  book-keepers,  accountants,  clerks,  etc.  The  In- 
dustrial School  has  its  own  workshops  for  the  teach- 
ing of  trades.  The  entrance  conditions  are  similar 
to  those  for  the  national  schools.  Thorough  prac- 
tical instruction  is  given  to  about  four  hundred  pupils 
in  a  number  of  subjects,  including  chemistry, 
mechanics,  physics,  optics,  electricity,  architecture, 
practical  carpentry,  mechanical  and  electrical  engineer- 
ing. The  complete  course  lasts  about  six  years, 
and  the  school  is  said  to  have  given  very  good  results. 
There  is  a  School  of  Mines  at  San  Juan,  to  which 
was  added,  by  a  decree  dated  April  20th,  1906,  a 
section  of  chemical  industry.  There  is  an  important 
agricultural  college  known  as  the  Agrarian  and 
Veterinary  School  at  Santa  Catalina  in  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood  of  Buenos  Aires,  and  at  Men- 
doza  there  is  a  viticultural  training  school  where 
the  practical  cultivation  of  the  vine  is  taught. 
Various  other  agricultural  and  horticultural  schools 
are  being  established  by  the  Government,  which 
also  supports  the  National  School  of  Pilots,  several 
conservatories  of  music,  and  a  drawing  school. 

There  is  a  naval  and  military  college,  from  which 
oJBficers  are  chosen  for  the  navy  and  army,  but  they 
do  not  come  under  the  Ministry  of  Education.  By 
order  of  the  Ministry  of  War  physical  drill  and  rifle 
shooting  are  taught  in  the  two  highest  classes  of  all 
secondary  schools,  these  exercises  being  subject  to 


CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT  8i 

the  supervision  of  a  military  officer.  The  Argentine 
Government  has  founded  numerous  scholarships,  and 
sends  students  to  England,  the  United  States,  Italy, 
France,  and  Germany.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
plan  of  education  is  very  complete;  but  it  would 
not  appear  to  give  such  good  results  as  might  be 
anticipated,  for  it  is  a  very  general  complaint  that 
there  are  no  good  schools  in  the  country  districts. 

The  attention  of  the  public  is  frequently  called 
in  the  newspapers  to  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of 
education,  in  spite  of  the  large  sums  of  money  spent 
upon  it  annually.  It  is  shown  how  small  is  the 
attendance  at  the  primary  schools  compared  with 
what  it  should  be  if  the  law  was  properly  obeyed, 
as  would  be  the  case  were  the  results  more  satis- 
factory. It  is  also  asserted  that  the  education  in 
the  secondary  schools  is  especially  defective,  and 
that  certificates  are  issued  to  university  candidates 
without  previous  examination,  and  after  merely 
nominal  questioning  by  inspectors.  There  are  numer- 
ous foreign  private  schools  in  the  country,  which 
all  have  to  submit  by  law  to  Government  super- 
vision.* 

There  is  compulsory  military  service.  The  period 
of  continuous  training  does  not  exceed  one  year, 
and  this  only  in  the  case  of  a  proportion  of  the 
annual  contingent.  The  others  are  released  after 
three  months'  drill.  With  varying  periods  of  train- 
ing every  Argentine  from  the  age  of  twenty  to  forty- 

*  This  information  respecting  education  in  Argentina  is  extracted 
from  a  British  Foreign  Offlce  memorandum. 
G 


82  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

five  is  liable  to  be  called  upon  to  defend  his  country. 
Though  years  may  pass  without  any  call  to  attend 
military  drill,  every  man  in  the  country  must  learn 
to  shoot. 

Heavy  duties  are  imposed  on  most  manufactured 
articles  imported,  except  in  the  case  of  material 
directly  beneficial  to  the  development  of  the  country, 
such  as  machinery.  Anything  which  helps  in  the 
progress  of  the  Republic  has  easy  entry.  So,  though 
it  means  two  years'  residence  to  become  a  naturalised 
citizen,  anyone  who  establishes  a  new  industry,  or 
introduces  a  useful  invention,  who  has  contracted 
to  build  railways  or  establish  a  colony,  or  who  is 
going  to  be  a  teacher  in  any  branch  of  education 
or  industry,  is  admitted  at  once.  All  these  regula- 
tions go  to  show  that,  despite  the  perfectly  legitimate 
criticisms  which  can  be  made,  there  is  sound  common- 
sense  and  foresight  in  the  minds  of  the  governing 
classes. 

Everyone  in  any  business  or  profession  must  pay 
an  annual  licence,  and  these  vary  from  five  to  sixty 
thousand  dollars.  The  latter  sum  is  paid  by  banks. 
Money-lenders  have  to  pay  from  five  to  seven  thou- 
sand dollars,  whilst  in  some  provinces  the  patenie 
varies  from  three  to  six  hundred  dollars  a  year.  The 
postal  and  telegraph  services  are  under  the  control 
of  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior.  Most  of  the  taxation 
is  indirect.  Though  the  tariffs  imposed  on  manu- 
factured articles  coming  into  the  country  are  high — 
except  in  the  case  of  specified  articles,  which  are 
counted  as   beneficial  for  the  development  of  the 


CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT  83 

country — and  consequently  one  is  disposed  to  gasp 
at  the  price  of  things  compared  with  Europe,  it  is 
not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  direct  taxation  is  not 
so  high  as  in  Europe.  I  heard  it  asserted  that  the 
reason  there  are  high  tariffs  is  to  stimulate  manu- 
facture in  Argentina.  If  so,  the  result  has  not  been 
markedly  apparent.  The  effect  might  have  been 
so  if  the  mass  of  the  immigrants  into  Argentina  came 
from  manufacturing  countries,  like  Germany,  Bel- 
gium, France,  Great  Britain,  or  the  United  States. 
That  is  not  so,  and  one  of  the  hindering  checks  has 
been  the  language.  The  crowd  has  come  from  Italy 
and  Spain,  mostly  unskilled  labourers  or  men  whose 
knowledge  is  limited  to  the  land. 

Argentina  has  no  coal — and  that  will  always 
handicap  her  if  she  enters  the  field  as  a  manufactur- 
ing nation.  The  climate  being  what  it  is,  there  is 
no  need  of  coal  for  heating  purposes.  A  fire-place 
is  a  rare  sight.  But  the  importation  of  coal  is 
a  heavy  charge  on  the  working  of  railways  and  on 
shipping.  Syndicates  are  now  endeavouring  to  intro- 
duce oil  as  fuel.  Oil  has  been  found  in  the  country, 
but  as  yet  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to  make  it  an 
important  addition  to  the  products  of  the  Republic. 
So  I  see  small  prospect  of  Argentina's  ever  becoming 
a  manufacturing  country  in  the  modern  meaning  of 
the  phrase.  Blest  as  she  is  in  innumerable  respects, 
she  could  not  be  worse  placed  if  she  had  any  such 
desire.  She  cannot  produce  cheaper,  because  most 
of  her  raw  material,  including  coal,  must  be  imported, 
and  heavy  freights  would  handicap  economic  pro- 


84  THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

duction.  Take  the  case  of  two  raw  materials  which 
she  has  in  abundance,  leather  and  wool.  There  are 
shoe  factories,  but  the  quality  can  in  no  way  com- 
pete with  that  of  the  importations.  Only  the  rougher 
kind  of  boots  are  made.  There  is  some  woollen 
manufacturing,  but  the  material  produced  is  crude, 
except  in  a  few  cases.  Besides,  the  rush  of  immi- 
grants is  to  the  land,  and  not  into  workshops. 
The  men  who  are  skilled  artizans  are  few.  There- 
fore, although  here  and  there  you  get  local  manu- 
facturers who  can  hold  their  own  in  the  markets,  it 
may  be  said  that  in  general  the  articles  imported 
are  better  and  cheaper,  notwithstanding  the  tariff. 
However,  as  I  will  show  in  a  later  chapter,  there 
is  room  for  industrial  development  within  a  defined 
range. 

Then  there  are  the  constant  labour  disputes  in 
the  towns.  Running  along  with  the  prosperity  of 
the  country  is  the  trouble  of  repeated  strikes  amongst 
the  workers.  It  is  not  my  province  to  go  into  the 
merits  of  the  respective  disputes.  But  they  have 
been  so  recurrent,  and  have  so  much  hampered 
trade,  that  the  Government  has  taken  the  most 
drastic  measures  by  laying  hands  on  the  chiefs  of 
trade  unions  when  grievances  are  fomented  and 
strikes  threatened. 

Although  the  number  of  the  strings  of  commerce 
which  are  in  the  hands  of  Englishmen  is  gratifying, 
it  would  have  been  strange  if  I  had  not  heard  the 
usual  complaint  that  the  Germans  are  edging  in, 
and  that,  if  care  is  not  taken,  the  British  will  be 


CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT  85 

ousted  from  their  pre-eminence.  It  was  the  old 
story  that  British  merchants  are  too  conservative, 
and  do  not  pay  sufficient  heed  to  the  personal  likings 
of  Argentine  customers.  It  is  true  I  saw  lots  of 
German  goods.  They  were  cheaper  and  not  of  the 
same  quality  as  those  of  British  make.  Furthci", 
German  houses  give  much  longer  credit  than  do  their 
British  rivals.  Another  cause  of  complaint  is  that 
in  business  disputes  the  long-drawn-out  law's  delay, 
and  the  obstacles  in  the  path  of  the  foreigner  seek- 
ing redress,  mean  that  justice  is  not  always  secured. 
It  is  not  to  be  denied  that,  although  the  returns 
are  excellent,  Britain  does  not  retain  the  same  pro- 
portion of  the  import  trade  which  she  had  a  few  years 
ago.  There  is  no  disputing  the  superiority  of  the 
British  article ;  but  German  and  French  merchants 
having  a  market  to  secure  are  more  accommodating 
to  their  customers,  whilst  in  regard  to  agricultural 
implements  the  United  States  makers  are  pushing 
their  hardest.  Their  machines  are  more  showy  than 
the  English.  It  seems  a  small  point,  and  yet  I  have 
thought  it  would  be  well  if  our  British  manufacturers 
would  not  only  turn  out  a  serviceable  tool,  but  bear 
in  mind  the  temperament  of  the  people  who  are  to 
be  the  buyers.  Put  two  threshing  machines  in  a 
Buenos  Aires  warehouse,  that  from  Britain  painted 
grey,  and  that  from  the  United  States  painted 
red ;  the  Latin  Argentine  is  naturally  attracted 
to  the  red,  even  though  its  merits  be  inferior. 
Hundreds  of  millions  sterling  are  to  be  expended 
in    public    works    during    the    ensuing   few  years. 


86  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

and  British  contractors  should  be  awake  to 
the  possibilities.  Belgian  contractors  have  already 
been  in  the  field,  but  their  work  has  not  always 
been  "up  to  sample,"  so  that  the  present  oppor- 
tunity is  considerable. 

Old  residents  directed  my  attention  to  a  great 
change  which  is  taking  place  in  the  import  houses 
of  Buenos  Aires.  Until  a  few  years  back  it  could 
be  said  that  the  British  were  first  and  the  rest  no- 
where. British  capital  has  flowed  abundantly  into 
the  country,  but  toward  developing  its  natural 
resources  rather  than  in  trade.  Now  German  houses 
have  a  strong  footing  in  "  B.A.,"  and,  naturally 
enough,  they  are  encouraging  the  products  of  their 
own  land.  Go  into  a  German  house,  and  it  is  German 
wares  that  are  for  sale.  Go  into  a  British  house, 
and  you  find  United  States  and  German  wares  as 
well  as  English  being  offered.  I  was  seriously  con- 
vinced, whilst  studying  the  trend  of  trade  in  Argen- 
tina, that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  managing 
heads  of  English  firms  who  have  dealings  with  South 
America,  and  find  they  are  not  getting  that  share 
of  the  increased  trade  which  the  growth  of  the 
country  warrants,  should  make  periodic  visits  to 
Argentina  to  learn  for  themselves  what  is  the  matter. 

If  there  is  one  complaint  to  be  made  against 
the  Englishman  trading  with  a  foreign  land,  it  is 
his  lack  of  adaptability.  So  long  as  he  had  the 
manufacturing  of  the  world  in  his  own  hands,  he 
could  do  as  he  liked.  The  thing  he  made  was  good, 
and  it  was  the  only  thing.     Now  he  has  keen  com- 


CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT  S7 

petitors,  and  the  customer  has  a  varied  choice.  The 
Englishman  has  to  consider  whether  it  is  worth  his 
while  to  give  the  exaggerated  credit  which  manu- 
facturers elsewhere  are  prepared  to  give  if  they  can 
secure  the  orders.  The  Argentine  likes  long  credit. 
Then,  is  he  prepared  to  make  an  inferior,  showy 
article  at  a  cheap  price  ?  These  are  two  consider- 
ations which  count  enormously  with  the  Argentine. 
You  can  purchase  the  best  Sheffield  cutlery  in  the 
best  shops,  for  it  is  what  the  better-to-do  people 
insist  on  having.  But  there  are  millions  of  people  in 
the  Republic  who  have  never  heard  of  Sheffield,  and, 
therefore,  know  nothing  about  its  reputation.  What 
they  want  is  cheap  knives.  Sheffield  firms  do  not 
make  these,  and  the  consequence  is  the  majority  of 
the  people  have  rubbish  from  elsewhere.  I  am  not 
advocating  that  the  British  manufacturer  should 
drop  making  the  things  which  have  won  for  him  and 
his  country  a  worthy  reputation.  I  am  pointing 
out  some  of  the  things  which  must  be  well  thought 
about  if  Britain  is  going  to  keep  its  pre-eminence 
in  the  financial  value  of  the  goods  imported  into 
Argentine. 

Further,  an  Argentine  when  he  orders  anything 
wants  it  at  once.  Quick  delivery  is  an  essential. 
Finally,  all  catalogues  should  be  in  Spanish,  and  all 
prices  in  Argentine  currency.  No  man  who  goes 
out  to  "  chase  up  business "  in  securing  orders 
should  be  without  a  knowledge  of  Spanish.  Talk- 
ing through  an  interpreter  is  no  good.  The  personal 
touch  is  lost.     Spanish  is  a  language  much  neglected 


88  THE  AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

in  England.  I  can  think  of  no  more  profitable  in- 
vestment for  a  young  fellow  of  parts,  wanting  to 
enter  commercial  life,  and  without  means  to  go 
into  business  as  a  principal,  than  thoroughly  to 
master  Spanish. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   COUNTRY 

It  is  well  to  get  a  bold,  broad  idea  of  the  country. 
It  covers  2,000,000  square  miles.  England  is  just 
about  one-tenth  that  size.  It  is  double  the  size  of 
Mexico. 

In  the  far  north  you  are  in  the  torrid  tropics. 
In  the  far  south  you  need  a  heavy  coat,  even  in 
high  summer-time.  Its  conditions  may,  therefore, 
be  described  as  variable.  No  other  country  can 
give  you  such  change. 

The  20,000  miles  of  railway  run  through  most 
of  the  flat  fertile  areas,  and  the  ordinary  traveller 
comes  away  with  the  idea  it  is  one  of  the  most  level, 
featureless  countries  he  has  ever  been  in.  The  old 
settlers  had  the  same  idea,  for  their  description 
pampa  applied  to  a  boundless  stretch.  You  can 
journey  for  hundreds  of  miles  and  never  see  a  tree. 
But  up  in  the  north,  under  the  shadow  of  Brazil, 
are  great  forests  which  will  be  made  useful  to  the 
world  one  of  these  days.  Then  you  get  the  back- 
bone of  the  continent  in  the  west,  the  Andes  with 
Aconcagua  rising  to  23,000  feet  above  sea  level. 
In  the  middle  land  is  the  fruitful  Argentine  Mesa- 
potamia.  In  the  far  south  is  the  last  word  of  deso- 
lation, the  Patagonian  wilderness. 

89 


go  THE  AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Argentina  has  several  navigable  rivers,  and  two, 
the  Plate  and  the  Parana,  up  which  it  is  possible, 
for  light  draft  steamers,  at  any  rate,  to  go  hundreds 
of  miles.  If  one  pretends  there  is  no  Amazon  in 
existence  the  Plate  discharges  more  water  into  the 
ocean  than  any  river  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  the 
Magellan  Straits.  A  learned  book  informs  me  that 
the  volume  of  water  rolled  into  the  ocean  is  2,150,000 
cubic  feet  per  second,  which  seems  "  prodigious."  At 
Monte  Video  the  width  of  the  river  is  sixty-two  miles  ; 
so  it  is  no  trifling  creek.  The  Plate  is  the  muddiest 
stream  I  have  ever  come  across.  This  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  considering  that  it  and  its  tributaries 
scour  many  thousands  of  miles.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  estuary  is  being  filled  up.  Within  knowledge, 
the  depth  opposite  Monte  Video  has  lessened  by 
fifteen  feet,  and  though  dredgers  are  constantly  at 
work,  big  liners  moving  up  to  Buenos  Aires  have 
sometimes  to  force  a  way  through  two  feet  of  mud. 
It  is  quite  likely  that  in  the  fullness  of  time  Buenos 
Aires  will  not  be  a  port,  but  an  inland  town. 

Sometimes  Argentina  has  floods  which  ruin  the 
crops,  drown  thousands  of  cattle,  break  the  railway 
banks,  and  reduce  strong  men,  who  thought  they 
were  rich,  to  tears  at  the  prospect  of  poverty.  Or 
there  are  droughts  which  shrivel  everything  up. 
Away  back  in  the  'thirties,  Buenos  Aires  Province 
had  a  drought  which  lasted  for  five  years.  Scientists, 
who  know  all  about  these  things,  say  that  the  rain- 
less zones  are  extending,  and  that  in  the  far  future 
the  whole   Republic   will   be   a   rainless   zone,   and 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  COUNTRY    91 

umbrella  sellers  will  go  into  the  bankruptcy  court. 
The  prospect  is  not  immediate,  and  if  we  are  wise 
we  shall  not  worry  over  a  trouble  which  may  have 
to  be  faced  five  hundred  years  hence. 

Considering  you  can  get  a  sweep  of  level  country 
for  2,000  miles,  with  scarcely  a  hill  that  would  make 
a  decent  bunker,  when  a  gale  gets  on  the  rampage 
it  runs  away  with  itself.  There  is  the  zonda,  which 
so  disturbs  the  elements  that  the  thermometer  jumps 
fifty  degrees  in  about  as  many  minutes.  Then, 
although  there  are  those  millions  of  cubic  feet  of 
water  emptying  itself  out  of  the  Plate,  there  comes 
the  suestadas,  which  blows  so  hard  that  the  water 
cannot  get  into  the  ocean,  and,  as  a  result,  the  upper 
streams  rise  and  tumble  over  their  banks.  Next 
there  are  the  'pamperos  on  the  plains,  which  either 
grill  you  with  their  heat  or  give  you  a  chill  from  their 
rawness.  I  did  not  suffer  myself ;  but  these  hateful 
pamperos  are  so  charged  with  electricity  that  they 
give  you  a  shock  which  produces  a  sort  of  paralysis, 
"  perhaps  twisting  up  a  corner  of  the  mouth,  or 
half  closing  one  eye,  or  causing  a  sudden  swelling 
of  the  neck,"  as  one  authority  records. 

Parts  of  the  Republic  are  yet  to  be  explored. 
Persistent  man  is  having  a  rough  time  in  the  Chaco 
region.  When  our  ancestors  invented  hell  they  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  Chaco.  It  is  all  swamp  and 
forest,  and  mammoth  mosquitoes  and  fever,  and 
pestiferous  Indians  who  do  not  like  the  white  man, 
and  put  a  spear  into  his  back  whenever  they  get 
the  chance.     The   Chaco  Indians  are  amongst  the 


92  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

few  of  their  race  who  have  not  been  subjugated. 
There  are  rivers  which  come  trailing  from  goodness 
knows  where ;  but  when  they  reach  the  Chaco  they 
are  evidently  so  disgusted  that  they  burrow  under- 
ground. When  it  rains,  fish  several  inches  long 
drop  from  the  clouds.  Under  a  torrent  a  dip  in 
the  ground  will  become  a  pool,  and  in  it  will  be  found 
fish  a  foot  long.  They  do  not  drop  from  the  clouds. 
There  are  no  little  streams  by  which  they  can  have 
arrived.  Where  do  they  come  from  ?  The  easiest 
explanation  offered  is  that  they  were  formerly  much 
smaller,  did  arrive  on  a  storm  cloud,  and  have  been 
lying  in  the  mud  since  the  last  storm. 

I  heard  yams,  vouched  for,  but  which  seem  like 
travellers'  tales.  There  is  a  little  bird  which  sits 
on  a  branch  and  twitters.  Others  come  round,  and 
are  apparently  mesmerised.  Then  the  little  bird 
attacks  one,  maybe  much  bigger  than  itself,  and  kills 
it  without  any  resistance  being  offered.  There  is 
another  bird  which  lives  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
Indians,  hops  in  and  out  of  their  mud  huts,  and  is 
known  as  the  "  watch  bird,"  because  it  always  raises 
a  peculiar  cry  when  a  stranger  approaches. 

In  its  physical  aspects  the  Chaco  is  strange,  with 
swamps,  arid  plains,  and  mighty  clumps  of  forest. 
Here  grows  the  quebracho,  which  means  the  break- 
axe  ;  so  it  is  a  very  hard  wood.  It  is  to  get  this 
wood  that  companies  have  men  working  in  the  Chaco, 
hundreds  of  miles  from  even  a  vestige  of  civilisation. 
Bullocks  are  employed  to  drag  the  trunks,  and  the 
poor  beasts  have  a  bad  time  of  it.    Then  there  are 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  COUNTRY    93 

light  railways  to  carry  the  trunks  to  the  mills. 
Originally  the  quebracho  was  sought  because  it  made 
serviceable  and  long  lasting  "  sleepers "  for  rail- 
roads. Now  it  is  chiefly  wanted  for  the  tannin  in 
it ;    it  is  said  to  contain  50  per  cent,  of  tannin. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  singular  birds  in  the 
Chaco.  But  there  are  others  to  be  found  elsewhere 
in  Argentina.  W.  H.  Hudson,  in  his  instructive 
book  "  The  Naturalist  in  La  Plata,"  describes  the 
ypecaha,  which  holds  public  meetings  and  has 
dancing  performances.  "  A  number  of  ypecahas," 
he  says,  "  have  their  assembling  places  on  a  small 
area  of  smooth,  level  ground,  just  above  the  water 
and  hemmed  in  by  dense  rush  beds.  First  one  bird 
among  the  rushes  emits  a  powerful  cry,  thrice  re- 
peated, and  this  is  a  note  of  invitation  quickly 
responded  to  by  other  birds  from  all  sides  as  they 
hurriedly  repair  to  the  usual  place.  In  a  few  moments 
they  appear  to  the  number  of  a  dozen  or  twenty, 
bursting  from  the  rushes  and  rushing  into  the  open. 
space  and  instantly  beginning  the  performance. 
There  is  a  screaming  concert.  The  screams  they 
utter  have  a  certain  resemblance  to  the  human 
voice,  exerted  to  its  utmost  pitch  and  expressive  of 
extreme  terror,  frenzy  and  despair.  A  long,  pierc- 
ing shriek  is  succeeded  by  a  lower  note  as  if  in  the 
first  the  creature  had  wellnigh  exhausted  itself. 
Whilst  screaming,  the  birds  rush  from  side  to  side, 
as  if  possessed  by  madness,  the  wings  spread  and 
vibrating,  the  long  beak  wide  open  and  raised  vertic- 
ally.    This  exhibition  lasts  three  or  four  minutes. 


94  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

after  which  the  assembly  peaceably  breaks  up." 
Quite  like  a  political  meeting  at  home. 

European  domestic  animals  have  thrived  since 
their  introduction,  though  there  is  a  tendency, 
checked  by  the  constant  introduction  of  breeding 
stock,  to  develop  local  characteristics.  This  has 
been  particularly  remarked  in  sheep  which  have 
strayed  and  have  been  left  to  themselves  for  several 
generations.  They  grow  bigger  and  bonier,  and  with 
their  leanness  comes  the  power  of  rapid  movement, 
so  that  their  flesh  is  scant  and  their  wool  has  an 
inclination  toward  growing  straight  and  stiff  like  the 
hair  of  a  goat.  In  the  outlands  of  Argentina 
ostriches,  jaguars,  and  deer  may  be  seen ;  but  you 
can  live  for  years  on  the  prairies — and  that  is  where 
most  of  the  colonisation  is  going  on — and  never 
catch  a  glimpse  of  one  of  these. 

The  thing  which  lays  hold  of  the  seeing  man,  after 
he  has  remembered  the  ages  during  which  the  country, 
suitable  for  maintaining  inniunerable  millions  of  men 
and  beasts,  lay  dormant,  is  the  way  the  land  has 
been  completely  transformed  in  its  inhabitants, 
human  and  animal,  and  how  alien  vegetation  has 
found  a  thriving  home.  The  early  Spanish  adven- 
turers, as  has  already  been  told,  had  to  start  their 
settlement  by  bringing  animals  from  Spain,  and  it 
was  chance,  the  extraordinary  reproductiveness  of 
herds  which  strayed  or  were  abandoned,  which 
taught  them  they  had  come  into  possession  of  some- 
thing more  valuable  than  gold  mines.  Books  of 
history  chiefly  deal  with  the  lust  and  the  cruelty 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  COUNTRY     95 

of  the  early  Spaniards.  I  have  nothing  to  do 
here  with  the  story  of  the  way  in  which  Spain 
conquered  the  land.  We  have  not  to  lose  sight 
of  the  fact,  however,  they  began  settling  in  these 
parts  nearly  four  hundred  years  ago,  when  a  voy- 
age to  the  Americas  was  like  a  journey  to  another 
planet,  when  the  ships  were  small  and  incommodious 
and  dangers  were  great,  and  the  world  had  no  ex- 
perience in  the  science  of  colonisation.  The  author- 
ities freely  gave  tracts  of  land,  but  in  their  wisdom 
they  always  stipulated  that  European  domestic 
animals  should  be  introduced.  A  settler  got  land  for 
wheat  and  maize  and  an  orchard,  and  then  more 
land,  just  in  proportion  to  how  many  horses,  cows, 
sheep,  pigs,  and  goats  he  would  introduce.  The 
land  could  be  obtained  for  nothing,  but  always  on 
condition  that  it  was  put  to  its  full  use  in  the  main- 
tenance of  stock.  That  was  a  rough  and  ready,  and 
yet  very  statesmanlike  procedure.  The  best  incen- 
tive was  given  to  the  agriculturist  and  breeder. 
The  more  cattle  he  introduced  the  more  land  he 
put  to  the  plough,  the  bigger  was  the  grant  given 
to  him  by  the  authorities.  Thus  possession  and 
prosperity  advanced  hand  in  hand.  Here  is  a  lesson 
which  might  be  learnt  to-day  and  copied  by  such 
countries  as  Australia,  where  there  are  millions  of 
acres  of  undeveloped  territory. 

Time  came  when  the  wild  herds  waxed  so  numer- 
ous that  the  local  councils  proclaimed  that  all  such 
cattle  were  the  public  property  of  their  own  people. 
To    prevent   those   who   lived   under   another   local 


96  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

council  taking  possession,  the  system  of  branding 
these  cattle,  when  they  could  be  caught,  was  intro- 
duced. When  the  cattle  thief  came  on  the  scene, 
and  he  was  got  hold  of,  he  was  first  branded  on  the 
shoulder  and  for  subsequent  offences  branded  in  the 
hand,  flogged  and  hanged.  The  straying  cattle  in 
a  district  belonging  to  the  public,  the  public  soon 
began  to  appreciate  that  here  were  cheap  meat  and 
cheap  hides.  They  were  hunted  as  the  buffalo  were 
subsequently  hunted  in  North  America,  and  it  really 
seemed  as  though  they  were  going  to  be  exter- 
minated. Regulations  had  to  be  made  limiting  the 
number  of  animals  to  be  killed  every  year.  Though 
there  was  still  great  slaughter,  the  herds  continued 
to  multiply  amazingly,  and,  of  course,  wandered 
hundreds  of  miles  away  from  any  settlements.  So 
the  tide  rolled  on  until  two  hundred  years  ago  the 
number  of  cattle  had  increased  to  many  millions. 
Carlos  Gervasini,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  writing  from 
Buenos  Aires  in  1729,  says,  "  So  numerous  are  the 
cattle  in  the  neighbouring  campo  here  that  any 
landlord  may  take  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  to 
breed  from,  merely  for  the  trouble  of  lassoing  them 
and  driving  them  home.  In  order  to  take  more 
than  this  number  a  special  licence  is  required  from 
the  governor.  The  ships  returning  to  Spain  are 
filled  with  the  hides,  and  none  but  good  specimens 
of  these  are  troubled  about.  As  to  the  flesh,  each 
man  takes  what  he  requires  and  leaves  the  rest  to 
the  jaguars  and  dogs."  Some  years  later  a  visitor 
to  Argentina  said  there  were  so  many  cattle  that 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  COUNTRY    97 

the  plains  were  covered ;  and  had  it  not  been  for 
the  number  of  dogs  which  devoured  the  young  the 
country  would  have  been  devastated  by  them. 
There  were  so  many  cattle  that  when  the  Spaniards 
were  at  war,  and  invading  boats  appeared,  their 
custom  was  to  drive  vast  herds  pell-mell  down  the 
river  bank  and  so  prevent  a  landing. 

See  the  extraordinary  whirligig.  First  no  cattle. 
Then  land  granted  to  settlers  who  would  introduce 
cattle.  Then  so  many  cattle  they  could  be  had  by 
anyone  for  the  asking,  and  this  followed  by  whole- 
sale slaughter,  the  extermination  so  thorough  that  a 
halt  had  to  be  called.  Then  further  amazing  multi- 
plication, till  the  increasing  wild  dogs  played  havoc 
with  the  young  animals.  Then  the  dogs  got  so 
numerous,  and  their  ravages  so  extensive,  that 
soldiers  were  sent  out  to  wage  war  on  the  canine 
pests.  They  killed  untold  thousands,  but  the  people, 
instead  of  being  grateful,  chaffed  the  soldiers  and 
dubbed  them  the  "  dog  killers."  The  dogs  started 
to  increase  again,  faster  than  the  cattle,  but  men 
refused  to  go  out  and  kill  the  dogs  when  the  only 
reward  was  to  be  nicknamed  "  dog  killer."  So  the 
dogs  were  left  alone,  and  they  kept  down  the  number 
of  cattle.  It  was  not  till  fifty  years  ago  that  a 
systematic  massacre  of  the  wild  dogs  took  place, 
because  just  then  the  Argentines  were  beginning  to 
settle  down  to  scientific  breeding. 

It  is  astonishing  how  few  dogs  there  are  in  Argen- 
tina.    The  dog  may  be  the  friend  of  man  in  other 
parts   of  the   world,    but    not   in   Argentina.     The 
H 


98  THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Argentine  hates  the  dog.  In  Buenos  Aires  the 
police  have  order  to  arrest  every  dog,  whether  it 
is  with  anyone  or  not.  During  the  time  I  was 
in  "  B.A."  I  saw  only  one  dog,  and  that  was  the 
property  of  Sir  Reginald  Tower  at  the  British 
Legation. 

That  is  not  all  the  story.  Not  only  did  the 
wild  dogs  develop  a  taste  for  young  calves,  but 
the  native  Indians  began  to  show  a  fondness  for 
horseflesh.  For  centuries,  although  he  could  have 
had  any  number  of  cattle  and  nobody  would  have 
objected,  the  Indian  maintained  a  preference  for 
horseflesh.  Then,  suddenly,  his  fancy  extended  to 
cattle.  When  he  started  rounding  up  the  cattle 
of  the  Spaniards  there  was  trouble.  Sheep  were 
prolific,  but  mutton  was  contemptible  food.  None 
was  so  poor  as  to  be  obliged  to  eat  mutton.  The 
Spaniards  regarded  mutton  much  as  Englishmen 
now  regard  horseflesh.  The  only  use  of  a  sheep  was 
for  its  wool  and  fat.  But  the  prejudice  against  mut- 
ton, after  lasting  for  nearly  three  hundred  years, 
finally  disappeared. 

Whilst  there  was  an  increasing  carrying  trade 
from  Buenos  Aires  to  Spain  of  skins,  wool,  and 
tallow — very  profitable  merchandise — Spain  officially 
was  not  enthusiastic  over  this  mean  trading.  What 
she  wanted  was  gold  and  silver.  As  these  came  from 
Peru  and  Chili  those  countries  were  favoured  whilst 
Argentina  was  the  Cinderella  of  the  family.  What 
good  was  a  country  that  had  no  mines  but  only 
grass  to  feed  horses  and  cattle  and  sheep  ? 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  COUNTRY    99 

We  think  differently  in  these  days,  but  in  those 
far-off  times  Spain  scarcely  condescended  to  recog- 
nise Argentina.  It  was  darling  Peru  that  was  always 
favoured.  All  regulations  in  regard  to  trade  were 
made  favourable  to  Peru.  Spain  accepted  what  she 
fancied  from  Argentina,  and  hampered  her  in  seeking 
other  markets. 

Nothing,  however,  could  •  stop  the  advance  of 
Argentina.  It  was  with  reluctance  that  Argentina 
was  raised  to  the  first  rank  as  a  province,  and  was 
given  liberty  to  export  where  she  liked.  Her  trade 
jumped  ahead.  Then  Argentina  not  only  killed  to 
get  hides  and  wool  and  fat,  but  she  had  to  begin 
breeding  in  order  to  supply  the  European  demand. 
She  began  to  dream  dreams.  There  was  little  immi- 
gration ;  the  people  were  the  descendants  of  the  old 
settlers.  They  knew  nothing  of  Spain.  They  had 
no  recollection  of  ancestors  who  did  know  anything 
of  Spain.  Spain  meant  nothing  to  them  but  a 
distant  country  which  once  lorded  them  and  pre- 
sumed to  dictate  to  them.  It  was  resentment 
at  the  relationship,  combined  with  a  desire  to 
fulfil  an  independent  destiny,  that  brought  about 
the  revolution  and  the  declaration  of  a  republic 
in  1810. 

Since  then  Argentina  has  had  many  internal 
political  troubles.  She  has  had  her  set-backs.  But 
the  ebb  has  always  been  succeeded  by  a  tumbling 
flow  of  fortune.  The  breed  of  cattle  has  been  mar- 
vellously improved.  The  number  of  animals  now 
runs  into  hundreds  of  millions.     Vast  areas  now  wave 


100         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

with  wheat  and  maize.  As  you  journey  through 
Argentina,  and  see  the  land  smiling  with  success, 
you  know  that  beyond  your  gaze  are  thousands  of 
square  miles  of  soil  as  virgin  as  in  the  days  when 
the  Indians^'roamed  free. 


CHAPTER  IX 

"  CABBAGES   AND    KINGS  " 

One  of  the  failings  of  new  countries,  like  that  oi 
youth  generally,  is  conceit.  Yet,  on  second  thought, 
it  is  a  useful  offence,  for  it  carries  a  people  light- 
heartedly  over  rough  ground  which  older  nations 
dare  not  face  and  so  turn  aside. 

In  the  new  lands  the  settlers  have  the  constant 
panorama  of  achievement  before  their  eyes.  They 
remember  things  as  they  were  ten  years  ago,  see 
them  now,  and  are  convinced  that  nowhere  in  the 
world  has  such  progress  been  made  as  they  are 
making.  Anybody  who  hints  a  doubt  is  scowled 
upon.  And  the  buoyancy  of  spirit,  a  sort  of  ram- 
pant optimism  about  themselves,  is  fostered  by  a 
bent  of  mind  to  read  about  what  goes  on  in  "rotten 
old  Europe."  A  gracious  Providence  helps  them  to 
take  notice  only  of  the  good  things  in  their  own 
country,  and  to  have  a  quick  eye  for  the  bad  things 
in  other  countries.  Further,  as  all  new  lands  need 
settlers,  the  official  flag-waving  and  trumpet-blowing 
to  attract  immigrants  is  garish.  You  can,  as  a 
rule,  reduce  the  value  of  the  advertisements  by  half, 
and  still  be  quite  sure  that  more  than  justice 
remains. 

I  have  been  induced  to  write  the  preceding  para- 

lOI 


102         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE  ' 

graph  because,  as  I  am  not  a  hired  agent  to  proclaim 
the  wonders  of  Argentina,  but  merely  a  man  who  has 
studied  some  of  its  capabilities  on  the  spot,  I  have 
no  desire,  in  my  endeavour  to  give  a  true  portrait, 
to  ignore  the  warts  and  occasional  blemishes.  Of 
course,  the  Argentine  thinks  his  land  the  most  re- 
markable in  the  world.  In  many  respects  I  am 
disposed  to  agree  with  him.  But  it  is  not  without 
spot.  For  instance,  the  first  thing  he  is  enthusiastic 
about  is  the  climate.  The  freedom  from  severe  win- 
ters, with  the  possibility  for  cattle  to  remain  in  the 
open  all  the  year  round,  is  an  advantage.  But  in 
the  Argentine  winter  (our  summer)  there  are  cold, 
wretched,  rainy  days  which  are  depressing.  In 
their  summer  (our  winter)  the  heat  is  sometimes 
intense,  especially  in  the  northern  region.  I  know 
of  the  fine,  clear,  bracing  climate  of  the  plains,  fill- 
ing one's  veins  with  energy  and  the  joy  of  living. 
I  have  enjoyed  the  charm  of  Mendoza,  the  healthiest 
of  all  the  towns  in  the  Republic.  Where  I  am 
inclined  to  part  company  with  the  Argentine  is  when 
he  wants  to  argue  that  the  climate  of  the  whole 
country  is  adorable. 

Take  Buenos  Aires.  The  new  arrival  is  not  only 
entranced  with  the  development  and  the  encircling 
beauty  of  the  city,  but,  with  continuous  blue  skies 
and  glorious  sunshine,  he  is  prone  to  underline  the 
usual  nice  things  about  the  climate.  Then,  one  day, 
he  feels  uncomfortable,  limp,  saggy  in  body  and 
mind.  The  slight  breeze  is  from  the  north,  and  it 
seems   to   bring   heavy   inertia   from   the   Brazilian 


"CABBAGES   AND    KINGS"  103 

forests.  The  old  inhabitants  have  probably  got  used 
to  the  "  norther " — they  show  no  diminution  in 
vigour — but  the  muscle-slackening  and  wearying 
effect  on  the  new-comer  is  undoubted.  Most  of 
Buenos  Aires  is  built  on  low-lying  ground,  much  of 
it  reclaimed  from  the  shallow  Plate,  and  the  air 
is  relaxing.  Though  the  sun  is  delightful,  it  is  any- 
thing but  invigorating.  So  you  reach  the  conclusion 
that,  whilst  Buenos  Aires  has  usually  most  delightful 
weather,  it  has  an  indifferent  climate. 

There  are  striking  changes  in  temperature  in 
Argentina.  Within  half  an  hour  of  being  broiled 
you  may  feel  as  though  you  had  passed  into  a  re- 
frigerator. Hurricanes  sometimes  sweep  vast  areas, 
and  everything — trees,  buildings,  crops — are  mown 
down  by  the  blasts.  In  the  sandy  stretches  the  sand 
is  swept  up  like  a  thick  cloud,  and,  though  estancieros 
shut  every  door  and  fasten  every  window,  it  is  not 
long  before  every  room  has  an  inch  depth  of  sand. 
I  have  travelled  all  night  in  a  sleeping  car  with 
double  windows  to  resist  the  sand,  but  it  filtered 
through  nevertheless,  and  in  the  morning  I  found 
the  only  white  spot  in  the  compartment  was  where 
my  cheek  had  rested  on  the  pillow. 

Life  on  a  ranch  has  the  glamour  of  romance  about 
it.  The  town-bred  Englishman,  dissatisfied  with  his 
lot,  lets  his  fancy  roam  to  the  prairies  of  North 
America  or  the  pampas  of  South  America,  and  his 
imagination  glows  with  the  conjured  picture  of  cow- 
boy life — quaintly  dressed,  always  well-mounted,  and 
with  nothing  to  do  but  ride  over  the  plains  rounding 


104         THE   AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

up  wandering  cattle.  As  I  have  explained  in  an 
earlier  chapter,  many  of  the  large  estancias  are  not 
occupied  by  their  owners  ;  a  manager  with  a  salary 
is  put  in  charge,  and  he  usually  has  several  young 
Englishmen  as  assistants.  There  are  a  number  of 
peons.  The  manager,  usually  married,  has  a  decent 
house.  The  assistants  have  a  plain,  bachelor 
establishment,  and  live  in  common.  The  peons 
rarely  have  anything  better  than  ramshackle 
quarters.  Distances  are  enormous.  Frequently, 
outside  the  little  clump  of  trees  which  is  the 
distinguishing  feature  of  all  estancias,  there  is 
nothing  to  be  seen  as  far  as  the  eye  can  range  but 
featureless  prairie.  The  railways  may  be  many 
miles  away.  The  country  has  comparatively  few 
towns — really  a  good  point  about  an  agricultural  land 
— and  though  they  are  all  attractive,  only  Spanish 
is  spoken.  Months  may  elapse  between  the  visits 
of  an  Englishman  to  a  town.  He  has  to  rise  early  ;  he 
has  to  work  hard ;  the  glamour  of  cowboy  life  soon 
goes ;  he  and  his  mates  have  told  each  other  all 
their  stories ;  visitors  are  rare  ;  there  is  practically 
no  women's  society.  At  fust  the  tendency  is  to  be 
homesick.  But  in  time  the  man  gets  used  to  the  life  ; 
possibly  he  may  be  happy.  He,  however,  is  far 
removed  from  refining  influences.  He  may  have  a 
fondness  for  reading,  but  life  in  the  saddle  is  so  hard 
that  at  night,  after  supper  and  receiving  instructions 
from  the  "  boss  "  for  the  next  day,  and  having  a  chat 
over  work,  there  is  little  disposition  to  do  anything 
except  have  a  game  of  cards,  and  then  turn  in. 


"CABBAGES  AND   KINGS"  105 

It  is  no  unusual  thing  for  an  estancia  to  be  fifty 
miles  square.  If  so,  it  is  divided  into  three  or  four 
sections,  with  a  manager  over  each.  Even  then  the 
property  to  be  looked  after  is  extensive.  Though 
for  food  there  is  plenty  of  beef  and  mutton,  there  is 
little  variety.  The  men  are  out  by  four  in  the 
morning,  and  breakfast  is  often  no  more  than  bis- 
cuits, washed  down  with  mate  (native  tea).  There 
is  a  solid  meal  about  eleven  o'clock,  generally  boiled 
meat,  by  no  means  always  attractively  served. 
After  dark,  between  seven  and  eight  o'clock,  there 
is  supper :  meat,  coffee,  and  biscuits.  The  sur- 
roundings are  coarse  and  dirty,  and  sometimes 
disgusting.  Of  course,  conditions  are  occasionally 
much  better  than  these  ;  but  I  think  I  am  fairly 
describing  the  average  quarters  of  the  young  Enghsh- 
man  who  goes  out  to  Argentina  to  be  assistant  on 
an  estancia.  What  gare  me  frequent  surprise  was 
not  that  the  life  roughened  them,  but  that  so 
many  retained  the  kindly  courtesies  of  their  homes 
in  England. 

The  great  thing  is  that  the  life  is  healthy.  As 
years  pass  it  gets  a  grip  of  a  man,  so  that  even  if 
he  has  the  chance  to  return  to  civilisation  he  gener- 
ally prefers  the  camp.  There  is  the  driving  of 
cattle  to  the  railway  and  loading  them — often  diffi- 
cult work — into  the  trucks  to  take  them  to  the 
freezing  factories.  There  is  the  cutting  of  alfalfa  and 
the  shearing  of  sheep.  There  is  breaking-in  of  colts 
and  looking  after  the  stock. 

A  neighbouring   estancia  may   be   twenty   miles 


io6         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

away.  But  Sunday  is  a  holiday,  except  for  abso- 
lately  necessary  work,  and  men  will  start  off  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  have  a  jollification  with 
friends,  generally  to  witness  some  horse-racing,  about 
which  all  the  estancias  for  fifty  miles  round  are 
excited,  and  with  a  bottle  of  beer  as  first  prize. 
Maybe  once  or  twice  a  year  a  wandering  parson 
drops  into  an  estancia.  Whatever  be  the  religious 
views  of  the  hands — supposing  they  have  any — ^the 
visitor  is  well  received,  and,  be  he  Roman  Catholic 
or  Prostestant,  he  proceeds  to  "  fill  them  up."  He 
brings  them  something  they  do  not  often  think 
about.  At  the  least  he  is  a  diversion.  Undoubtedly 
his  praying  and  preaching  have  an  effect,  because 
for  several  days  after  he  has  gone  the  men  are  serious, 
and  language  is  not  quite  so  ruddy  as  formerly. 
Then  arises  the  question  of  the  rival  merits  of  horses 
over  a  level  two  miles,  and  the  trend  of  thought 
changes. 

The  rural  roads,  as  I  have  said,  are  shocking, 
especially  after  wet  weather,  for  they  are  no  more 
than  tracks  across  mother  earth.  But  man  is  an 
adaptable  creature,  and  the  Englishman  gets  used 
to  the  bad  roads.  The  very  discomforts  facilitate 
companionship.  No  man  out  on  the  road  and  need- 
ing a  meal  has  the  slightest  hesitation  about  drop- 
ping into  an  estancia  and  making  himself  at  home. 
Young  fellows  will  spend  their  money ;  and,  as  they 
cannot  get  rid  of  it  after  the  way  of  the  towns,  it 
goes  in  buying  horses  to  race  or  ponies  for  polo ; 
because  ^if   there    are    a    dozen    youngsters    within 


"CABBAGES   AND    KINGS"  107 

hail  they  invariably  form  a  polo  club.  Folk  think 
nothing  of  travelling  across  country  many  miles  to 
witness  a  polo  match  on  the  Sunday.  Usually  the 
matches  take  place  at  different  estancias  on  successive 
Sundays,  and  if  there  should  be  a  homely  English 
girl  about — well,  she  receives  as  much  attention  as 
a  real  beauty  would  get  in  Mayfair. 

Where  two  or  three  men  are  gathered  together 
in  England  the  odds  are  that  conversation  will  turn 
to  golf.  Wherever  men  living  in  Argentina  meet, 
be  they  Spanish,  Italian,  or  English,  they  talk  about 
horse-racing.  I  cannot  recall  that  I  ever  met  a 
man  in  the  Republic  who  was  not  interested  in  horse- 
racing.  I  have  already  described  what  goes  on  at 
Palermo.  But  besides  the  swagger  races  at  Palermo, 
and  the  races  amongst  the  natives,  the  English  like 
to  have  their  camp  races  every  few  months.  Not 
only  is  there  the  excitement  of  the  contests,  but 
there  is  real  warmth  in  the  hearts  of  men  meeting 
old  friends.  Everybody  knows  what  every  horse  has 
done ;  everybody  is  acquainted  with  the  riders. 
There  is  betting,  but  nothing  like  to  the  same  extent 
as  amongst  the  born  Argentines,  who  are  gamblers, 
every  mother's  son,  and  will  bet  on  anything  and 
everything. 

Sometimes  one  reads  in  English  newspapers  and 
telegrams  how,  on  the  arrival  of  emigrant  ships  in 
Australia  and  New  Zealand,  there  is  hustling  amongst 
the  ladies  of  those  countries  to  get  hold  of  the  girls 
who  are  arriving  as  domestic  servants.  Every  new 
country    has    its    domestic    servant    problem,    and 


io8         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Argentina  is  no  exception.  Unless  wealthy,  most 
people  in  the  towns  live  in  small  flats,  which  is 
partly  due  to  the  excessive  house  rent,  but  also  be- 
cause servants  are  scarce  and  dear.  The  foreigner 
who  has  to  make  shift  with  an  Argentine  servant  is 
either  driven  mad  or  deserves  a  medal  for  an  angelic 
temper.  I  confess  that  at  Cordoba  I  did  meet  with 
an  English  family  who  had  nothing  but  praise  for 
their  native  servants.  But  mostly  I  had  to  listen 
to  tragic  stories  of  dirtiness,  theft,  and  unblushing 
lying.  The  trouble  with  so  many  of  these  Latins 
is  that,  even  when  willing,  they  seem  quite  in- 
capable of  learning.  Of  course,  this  applies  to  the 
lowest  classes.  When  you  get  amongst  the  business 
folk  you  find  they  are  quite  as  cute  as  North  Ameri- 
cans— as  the  Argentines  always  speak  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States.  After  having  a  dozen  incom- 
petent servants  in  twelve  unhappy  months,  many 
an  English  housewife  ceases  her  search  for  a  decent 
servant  and  does  the  work  herself. 

There  may  be  a  Merchandise  Marks  Act  in  Argen- 
tina. What  I  am  quite  sure  about  is,  that  it  is  the 
very  paradise  of  the  faked  imitation  article.  There 
are  certain  things  in  Europe,  be  they  mineral  waters, 
or  field-glasses,  or  razors,  which  are  well  known. 
It  is  possible  to  get  the  real  thing  in  Buenos  Aires, 
but  it  is  six  to  one  you  get  a  faked  article.  The 
Argentines  fake  French  wines  of  well  known  chateaux. 
You  pay  a  big  price  expecting  to  get  a  good  cigar, 
and  more  likely  than  not  you  get  a  brand  with  a 
well-imitated     band.       All    the   well-known    Scotch 


"CABBAGES   AND   KINGS"  109 

whiskies  are  imitated,  and  there  are  half  a  hundred 
"  famous  "  whiskies  that  are  never  heard  of  out- 
side the  Repubhc.  I  searched  the  whole  of  Buenos 
Aires  to  get  some  briarwood  pipes  made  by  well- 
known  manufacturers.  I  was  offered  pipes  bearing 
their  names,  but  they  were  all  fakes.  "Sheffield" 
cutlery  is  often  the  shoddiest  product  of  Germany. 
England  has  still  a  reputation  for  turning  out  a  first- 
class  article,  but  my  experience  was  corroborated 
by  men  I  consulted  in  Buenos  Aires  ;  it  was  impos- 
sible, or  exceedingly  difficult,  to  get  the  genuine 
thing.  I  am  not  going  to  write  that  Argentina  is 
responsible  for  the  shiploads  of  imitation  muck 
which  is  dumped  upon  her  shores.  But  there  are 
certainly  some  manufacturers  in  some  parts  of  the 
world  who  make  cheap  and  nasty  things,  affix  well- 
known  English  names,  and  do  an  enormous  business 
in  exporting  them  to  the  Republic. 

The  **  fool "  EngHshman  is  to  be  encountered  on  the 
boats  sailing  to  the  Argentine.  He  does  not  read  the 
newspapers,  except  the  sporting  columns,  and  "  books 
are  so  dull";  but  somebody  has  told  him  Argentina 
is  a  wonderful  place  with  no  end  of  "  stuff  "  to  be 
picked  up.  So  with  a  first-class  ticket  to  "  B.A.," 
and  enough  cash  in  his  pocket  to  keep  him  at  the 
Plaza  Hotel  for  a  fortnight,  he  hopes  to  make  his 
fortune. 

"  No  end  of  Johnnies  make  lots  of  money,"  he 
explains  as  a  preliminary  to  proceeding  to  do  the 
same  himself. 

"  What  do  you  intend  to  do  ?  "  is  quietly  asked. 


HO         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

"  Oh,  anything.  I  think  I'd  like  to  go  on  one  of 
those  estancia  things ;  awfully  jolly  riding  about 
all  day  rounding  up  beastly  bullocks." 

"  Got  any  letters  of  introduction  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  I've  got  two  from  a  fellow  at  my  club, 
awfully  decent  sort,  who  met  a  couple  of  ripping 
Argentines  in  the  Riviera  summer  before  last,  but 
smelling  with  gold.  They  ought  to  put  a  chap  in 
for  something  worth  having  ;    what  ?  " 

That  is  not  a  fancy  picture.  I  have  met  two  of 
that  type  in  one  voyage,  and  the  above  is  a  fairly 
good  example  of  their  hopes  and  credentials.  With- 
out any  qualification  they  land  in  Buenos  Aires  and 
have  the  haziest  knowledge  what  they  propose  to 
do  next.  Possibly  they  have  some  vague  ideas 
that  wealthy  Argentines  will  be  down  at  the  wharf 
eager  to  help  good-looking  young  Englishmen.  The 
young  Englishman  proceeds  to  use  his  letters  of 
introduction,  and  finds  that  one  of  the  men  is  in 
Europe  and  nobody  ever  heard  of  the  other.  What 
next  ?  The  Englishman  does  not  know.  He  can- 
not speak  a  word  of  Spanish.  He  hangs  round  the 
hotel  lounge,  and  spends  a  lot  of  time  in  the  American 
bar  downstairs.  At  the  end  of  four  days  he  con- 
fides to  you  he  is  "  fed  up  with  the  stinking  hole," 
and  has  wired  to  the  "  old  man  "  to  send  him  enough 
*'  stuff "  to  take  him  home.  Then  at  the  end  of  a 
week  he  returns  to  England  in  the  same  boat  as 
that  by  which  he  arrived,  quite  convinced  Argentina 
is  a  place  which  he  was  jolly  lucky  to  get  out  of. 

There  was  another  young  fellow,  somewhat  more 


"CABBAGES    AND    KINGS"  m 

spry  than  the  example  I  have  given.  I  met  him 
in  the  street  one  morning,  and  he  was  furious.  He 
had  been  in  the  running  for  the  secretaryship  of  an 
Enghsh  company  that  had  some  big  contracts  in 
Argentina,  and  he  had  been  ruled  out  at  last  because 
he  did  not  speak  Spanish.  That  was  his  grievance. 
He  knew  he  could  mess  along  somehow,  and  could 
always  get  somebody  to  explain  if  he  had  to  talk 
business  with  an  Argentine  who  did  not  speak 
English ;  so  what  was  the  good  of  having  to  swat 
to  learn  the  lingo  ? 

One  of  the  biggest  financiers  in  Argentina  told 
me  one  day  that  whilst  plenty  of  young  English- 
men made  their  way — indeed,  if  competent,  they 
were  preferred  to  other  foreigners — he  was  aston- 
ished at  the  way  others  missed  their  opportunities. 
My  friend,  an  Englishman  himself,  but  who  has 
lived  all  his  life  in  the  country,  and  speaks  Spanish 
more  fluently  than  he  does  English,  has  his  finger 
in  many  concerns.  Young  men  who  have  come  out 
to  posts,  and  are  not  making  the  progress  they 
hoped,  go  to  him  to  see  if  he  can  give  them  a  help- 
ing hand. 

"  Delighted,"  he  says  ;  "I  want  to  help  my  own 
countrymen  as  much  as  possible.  How  long  have 
you  been  in  '  B.A.'  ?  " 

"  Eight  years." 

"  Then  you  speak  Spanish  like  an  Argentine, 
eh?" 

"  Well — er — no ;  but  I've  picked  up  enough  to 
scrape  along  on," 


112         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

"  Could  you  take  charge  of  a  hundred  Argentines 
and  talk  business  to  them  as  well  as  an  Argentine  ?  " 

"  No  ;    I  wouldn't  like  to  say  that." 

"  Could  you  write  a  technical  business  letter  in 
Spanish  ?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  not." 

"  Good  day,  my  young  friend.  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  have  helped  you,  but  I  want  a  man 
who  would  not  be  sure  to  make  mistakes." 

There  is  a  number  of  that  pattern  of  Englishman 
in  Buenos  Aires.  There  are  excuses  for  them.  They 
go  out  under  a  three-  or  a  five-years'  contract  to 
some  post.  A  lad  is  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land, 
and  has  yet  to  pick  up  Spanish.  He  naturally  con- 
sorts with  his  own  countrymen.  They  dine  together  ; 
they  meet  in  the  same  cafe  ;  they  belong  to  the 
same  club ;  they  seek  their  pleasures  together.  It 
is  very  hard  for  a  fellow  under  such  circumstances 
to  become  quick  with  the  language,  or  extend  his 
knowledge  to  any  great  extent  as  to  the  Argentine 
way  of  doing  things.  He  can  get  all  his  require- 
ments with  a  sort  of  pidgin-Spanish.  So  at  last  he 
does  not  bother.  That  is  the  kind  of  man  who 
sticks  in  the  same  position  all  his  life,  and  occasion- 
ally rails  at  his  luck  in  not  getting  a  big  post. 

That  is  one  side  of  the  picture.  There  is  the 
other.  I  have  in  my  mind  a  man  who  holds  a  high 
position  in  Argentina.  When  he  went  out  twenty 
years  ago  he  saw  that  the  first  essential  was  to  know 
the\language.  At  the  risk  of  being  thought  un- 
sociable, he  lived  with  Spanish   Argentines  for  two 


"CABBAGES   AND    KINGS"  113 

years,  and  made  friends  with  young  Argentines  rather 
than  with  Englishmen.  He  made  it  a  habit  to  read 
the  Buenos  Aires  Spanish  morning  papers.  He  has 
gone  ahead  and  done  exceedingly  well,  although  I 
would  not  describe  him  as  a  brilliant  business  man. 
Then  there  was  a  youth  with  whom  I  made  acquaint- 
ance on  the  boat.  I  noticed  he  was  spending  a 
good  deal  of  his  time  with  a  Spanish  grammar.  He 
told  me  he  was  going  out  under  a  five-years'  contract 
to  be  a  clerk  in  one  of  the  banks.  "  But  I  am  not 
going  to  stop  a  bank  clerk,"  he  confided  to  me, 
"  though  that  will  be  all  right  for  five  years.  By 
then  I  hope  to  have  got  a  good  grip  of  the  language 
and  picked  up  something  about  Argentina,  and  if 
then  I'm  not  able  to  go  to  some  boss  and  get  one 
of  the  good  jobs,  well,  it  will  be  my  own  fault." 
With  that  spirit  he  would  be  a  success.  All  over 
the  country  I  was  meeting  Englishmen  of  that 
standard,  and,  because  they  can  be  relied  upon, 
they  are  esteemed  and  trusted. 

But  I  am  not  going  to  sing  the  praises  of  Argentina 
from  a  British  immigrant's  point  of  view.  First  of 
all,  take  the  case  of  the  unskilled  labourer,  the 
artisan,  and  the  agriculturist.  There  is  no  man  so 
conservative  in  this  world  as  the  British  working 
man.  He  has  an  inherent  contempt  for  all  foreigners 
when  he  gets  close  to  them,  chiefly  because  their 
ways  are  not  his  ways.  So  the  working  man  who 
went  out  to  Argentina  would  be  handicapped  by 
not  knowing  the  language ;  he  would  be  confused 
with  the  money ;  he  would  dislike  the  food ;  the 
I 


114         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

way  in  which  the  working  class  Hves  out  there  would 
disgust  him.  At  the  other  end  of  the  string  is  the 
great  capitalist.  Capital  knows  no  language,  and 
owes  allegiance  to  no  country.  The  capitalist  with 
shrewdness,  intelligent  anticipation,  can  make  money 
quickly ;  in  no  country  can  a  man  get  so  quick  a 
turnover  of  his  capital  as  in  this  Republic. 

Between  these  two  classes  is  an  army  of  men 
who  go  into  the  railway  service,  into  the  offices 
of  great  English  firms,  into  banks.  They  get  better 
paid  in  Argentina,  but  living  is  three  times  as  heavy 
as  at  home.  Take  the  case  of  a  young  friend  of 
mine.  He  had  a  situation  in  England  at  £200,  and, 
with  his  amusements,  he  had  but  little  left  over. 
He  got  a  situation  in  Argentina  at  £700  a  year. 
Living,  more  or  less  in  similar  style  to  the  way  he 
did  at  home,  cost  him  £400  a  year.  But  he  had 
£300  a  year  over,  and  that  was  not  £300  a  year  in 
Argentine  value,  but  £800  a  year  in  English  value, 
because  he  was  investing  it  for  the  time  when  he 
would  return  to  his  native  land. 

Of  course  there  are  promotions  and  superior 
posts  to  be  obtained.  Occasionally  a  man  will  break 
away  and  get  hold  of  something  which  will  lead  to 
fortune.  These  cases,  however,  are  the  exceptions. 
The  great  fortunes  do  not  grow  out  of  business,  as 
they  do  in  the  United  States,  for  up  to  the  present 
Argentina  is  not  to  be  reckoned  with  as  a  manufac- 
turing country.  They  come  to  men  who  have 
colossal  finance  to  manipulate.  To  the  great  finan- 
cier Argentina  can  give  untold  wealth.     There  are. 


"CABBAGES   AND    KINGS"  115 

of  course,  cases  of  men  who  started  with  nothing, 
and  can  now  give  their  wives  a  £20,000  necklace. 
But  to  the  man  who  lands  in  Argentina  with  nothing 
but  his  muscle,  or  a  salaried  job,  although  his  posi- 
tion will  be  improved,  and  he  can  save  more  than 
ever  he  made  in  the  Old  Country,  the  chances  are 
against  his  ever  joining  the  ranks  of  the  nabobs. 


CHAPTER  X 

LIVE   STOCK   IN   THE   REPUBLIC 

The  constant  wonder  to  me,  as  I  traversed  the 
fruitful  prairies,  was  why  Nature  had  not  supplied 
the  country  with  indigenous  live  stock. 

One  would  have  thought  that  the  forces  of  evolu- 
tion would  have  provided  animals  to  benefit  and 
multiply.  Man,  of  course,  has  done  much  to  improve 
the  land.  By  the  laying  down  of  alfalfa  he  has 
turned  sandy  regions  into  rich  pasturage.  By  irri- 
gation he  has  converted  wastes  into  prosperous 
stretches.  Still,  there  were  thousands  of  square 
miles,  capable  of  maintaining  great  herds,  for  ages 
before  the  coming  of  the  Europeans.  But  Nature 
was  niggardly  in  raising  animals  which  the  adven- 
tures of  man  subsequently  proved  suitable  to  the 
soil. 

The  principal  original  animals  were  the  alpaca, 
which  provided  meat  and  wool,  and  the  llama,  used 
as  a  beast  of  burden  by  the  natives,  though  the 
loads  it  could  carry  were  slight.  Spain,  when  she 
took  possession  of  the  country,  saw  its  disadvantages. 
Though  the  Spanish  Court  was  prodigal  in  giving 
tracts  of  the  new  land  to  grandees  and  others,  it 
is  significant  that  in  practically  all  the  concessions 
was  the  provision  that  the  grant  failed  unless  horses, 

Ii6 


LIVE   STOCK    IN   THE    REPUBLIC    117 

cattle,  sheep,  and  goats  were  introduced.  They 
were  for  purely  domestic  uses. 

A  couple  of  centuries  ago  a  bull  and  ten  cows 
were  abandoned.  What  became  of  them  troubled 
no  one.  Long  afterwards  their  descendants  were 
found  grazing,  and  they  had  increased  to  many 
thousand  ;  now  they  have  increased  to  many  millions. 
They  were  sturdy  cattle,  but  too  numerous  for  the 
then  exceedingly  sparse  population.  Their  hides, 
however,  were  profitable  for  sending  to  Europe;  and 
many  thousands  of  beasts  were  slain,  and  their  car- 
cases left  to  rot,  in  order  that  their  skins  might 
be  sent  across  the  seas.  In  1794  merino  sheep  were 
imported  from  Spain.  In  1824  Southdowns  were 
imported  from  England.  They  made  an  excellent 
cross,  and  that  was  the  start  Argentina  got  in  the 
growing  of  wool. 

There  was  no  discovery  that  this  part  of  South 
America  was  peculiarly  suitable  for  European  stock. 
There  was  just  a  slow  but  increasing  consciousness 
of  the  fact  that  European  animals  were  easily  acclim- 
atised, and  had  a  greater  breeding  capacity  than 
at  home.  The  first  European  cattle  did  not  come 
direct,  but  dribbled  in  by  way  of  Brazil  from  Peru 
— a  roundabout  route.  Indeed,  for  several  centuries 
Spain,  which  was  mistress  of  that  part  of  the  world, 
rigorously  excluded  all  other  countries  from  assist- 
ing in  its  development  or  having  any  share  in  its 
trade.  Further,  Peru,  which  was  the  most  important 
of  the  Spanish  settlements,  had  sufficient  power  at 
the  Court  of  Spain  to  secure  an  insistence  that  all 


ii8         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

goods  entering  South  America  should  do  so  by  the 
door  of  Peru.  You  have  only  to  glance  at  a  map 
to  see  how  absurd  it  was  that  articles  intended  for 
Buenos  Aires  or  the  east  coast  had  to  be  shipped 
to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  taken  across  to  the  Pacific 
side  by  mule  caravan,  shipped  again  down  the  coast 
to  Peru,  and  then  sent  thousands  of  miles  over 
mountains,  through  jungle  and  across  uninhabited 
plains,  to  their  destination.  This  intolerable  con- 
dition of  things,  which  Spain  refused  to  change, 
had  much  to  do  with  Argentina's  casting  off  the 
yoke,  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  declaring  itself  as  a  republic. 

Though  one  hears  much  about  the  way  Argentina 
has  gone  ahead  as  a  cattle-raising  country  during 
the  last  decade,  one  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact 
that  the  Spaniards  have  been  rearing  cattle  there 
for  over  three  hundred  years.  Even  when  the 
possibilities  began  to  be  realised  there  were  no  means 
of  land  transport  except  by  driving  the  beasts,  and, 
except  for  the  hides  and  tallow  and  subsequently 
the  wool,  there  was  little  that  could  be  sent  to 
Europe. 

In  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  how- 
ever, Argentina  was  beginning  to  find  herself.  The 
Argentines  were  not  content  with  the  quality  of  the 
animals  which  were  bred  haphazard.  They  took  to 
importing  better  strains  from  Europe,  grasped  what 
pedigree  meant,  began  to  demand  the  best  the  world 
could  produce,  and  were  willing  to  pay  for  it,  until 
the  call  of  Argentina  for  pedigree  stock  has  almost 


LIVE   STOCK    IN    THE    REPUBLIC     119 

become  a  mania,  and  other  countries  have  little 
chance  when  Argentina  enters  the  market  with  her 
bags  of  gold. 

Not  only  was  there  a  wonderful  increase  in 
cattle  and  sheep,  but  horses  multiplied.  The  Spanish 
contempt  for  females  extends  to  mares,  and  no  self- 
respecting  Argentine,  who  was  not  seeking  the  sneers 
of  his  countrymen,  would  think  of  riding  a  mare. 
A  hundred  years  ago  European  nations  had  not 
thought  of  purchasing  South  American  mares;  and 
it  has  been  computed  that  in  the  first  quarter  of 
the  last  century  over  500,000  mares  were  mercilessly 
slaughtered  in  Argentina.  It  has  been  said  that 
an  enormous  number  of  wild  horses  were  at  large, 
and  their  continued  incursions  amongst  the  general 
stock  caused  great  loss  to  the  breeders. 

But  that  Argentina  is  one  of  the  most  productive 
lands  in  the  world  for  horses  is  undoubted.  They 
seem  to  have  something  approaching  the  fertility 
of  the  Australian  rabbit.  Historians  disagree  as  to 
whether  the  first  importation  of  horses  to  Argentina 
in  the  sixteenth  century  were  seventy-two  horses 
and  mares,  or  forty-four  horses  and  mares,  or  seven 
horses  and  five  mares.  Anyway,  whilst  Ruy  Diaz 
de  Guzman,  who  vouched  for  the  latter  figures, 
wrote  they  had  "  attained  such  a  multiplication  in 
less  than  sixty  years  that  they  cannot  be  counted, 
because  the  horses  and  mares  are  so  many  that  they 
appear  like  great  woods  and  occupy  (the  country) 
from  Cape  Blanco  to  the  fort  of  Gabato,  rather 
more  than  eighty  leagues,  and  reach  inland  to  the 


120         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Cordillera,"  the  monk  Fray  Juan  de  Rivadancira, 
who  declared  for  forty-four  horses  and  mares,  states 
that  "  the  coast  is  inhabited  by  a  great  many  people, 
and  there  is  an  immense  number  of  horses  that 
remained  there  from  the  time  of  Don  Pedro  de 
Mendoza,  that  is  forty-five  years  ago,  forty-four 
horses  and  mares  that  have  multiplied  themselves, 
but,  strange  to  say,  in  all  this  time  they  have  not 
been  seen  by  the  Spaniards,  who  only  know  of  them 
from  the  reports  of  the  Indians,  who  say  that  they 
cover  the  plains  to  an  astonishing  extent."  Allowing 
for  these  tales  being  exaggerated,  the  very  fact  they 
should  be  recorded  some  fifty  years  or  so  after  the 
first  importation  of  horses  shows  there  must  have 
been  an  astonishing  increase. 

Argentine  breeders  of  cattle,  knowing  of  the  care 
taken  in  Europe  to  improve  quality,  realised  that 
quantity  was  not  sufficient.  There  would  be  little 
merit  in  having  millions  of  animals  on  the  rich 
grassed  plains  if  commercially  they  were  unable 
to  compete  with  other  countries  with  their  produce. 
So  between  fifty  and  sixty  years  ago  they  began 
methodically  and  scientifically  to  improve  their  herds. 
The  result  was  so  satisfactory  that  owners  of  herds 
conceived  it  to  be  their  patriotic  duty — and  Argentina 
is  noisily  patriotic- — to  raise  the  standard  of  quality. 
The  Argentine  Agricultural  Society  was  established. 
It  has  increased  in  size  and  importance.  Its  offices 
at  Buenos  Aires  have  the  marks  of  energetic  dis- 
tinction, whilst  its  permanent  show  grounds  in  the 
subm-bs  of  the  city  are  the  finest  buildings  for  such 


LIVE   STOCK   IN   THE    REPUBLIC     121 

a  purpose  in  the  world.  I  will  not  say,  as  is  often 
said,  that  the  display  is  the  finest  in  the  world. 
Now  and  then  it  tops  any  other  show  in  a  particular 
class.  But  it  is  a  great  show,  provided  by  a  country 
with  only  seven  million  inhabitants  ;  and,  speaking 
generally,  it  is  not  a  bad  second  to  any  other,  no 
matter  where  it  is  held. 

There  is  tremendous  rivalry  amongst  breeders, 
and  the  ambition  to  secure  the  blue  ribbons  is  so 
great  that  the  Argentines,  as  I  have  mentioned 
in  a  previous  chapter,  will  not  trust  people  of  their 
own  race  to  act  as  judges.  The  judges  all  come 
from  Britain,  and  are  men  of  recognised  competence 
and  integrity.  They  are  the  guests  of  the  Society. 
They  are  provided  with  first  class  return  tickets, 
are  entertained  at  the  best  hotel  for  three  weeks, 
have  many  courtesies  piled  on  them,  and  each  receives 
£30  as  out-of-pocket  expenses.  So  keen  are  some 
Argentine  breeders  to  gain  the  coveted  ribbon  that 
I  have  heard  of  their  sending  special  representatives 
to  travel  on  the  boat  from  Southampton  to  Buenos 
Aires  so  that  an  amiable  judge  may  be  "  nobbled." 
Fortunately,  British  judges  are  not  made  that  way ; 
and  although  stories  of  attempts  are  common, 
there  is  no  recorded  instance  of  success. 

I  was  present  at  the  official  opening  of  the  show 
in  1913  by  the  Minister  of  Agriculture.  It  was  not 
an  enthusiastic  occasion.  The  weather  was  bad  and 
cold,  and  there  was  the  reading  of  two  interminable 
speeches  from  manuscript — read  to  about  a  score 
of  top-hatted  and  frock-coated  gentlemen  standing 


122         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

round,  looking  insufferably  bored  and  never  raising 
the  equivalent  of  a  single  "  hear,  hear,"  whilst  the 
crowds  in  the  stands  heard  not  a  word  but  waited 
patiently  for  the  parade  of  prize  winners  to 
begin. 

But  it  was  a  show  of  cattle  of  which  Argentina 
had  a  right  to  be  proud.  It  was  another  post  along 
the  road  of  evolution.  The  time  is  yet  far  off  when 
Argentina  can  rightly  claim  first  position  amongst 
the  live-stock  nations ;  but  it  is  a  goal  which  the 
Argentines  steadily  keep  in  sight.  Stud  farms  are 
to  be  found  all  over  the  country.  Prices  which 
formerly  would  have  been  thought  reckless  are  now 
willingly  paid  for  stallions,  bulls,  and  rams.  Yet, 
though  the  Argentine  is  pleased  with  himself,  he 
does  not  so  much  boast  of  what  he  has  accom- 
plished as  rhapsodise  about  the  future.  To-day  (1914) 
there  are  8,000,000  horses  in  the  country,  80,000,000 
cattle,  and  over  80,000,000  sheep.  Yet  only  a 
portion  of  the  country  suitable  for  stock  is  utilised. 
Everything  indicates  that  within  the  next  ten  years 
200,000,000  animals  of  all  classes  will  be  grazing 
on  the  pastures  of  Argentina. 

The  love  of  horse-racing  is  bred  in  the  bone  of 
every  man  in  the  country.  All  the  big  towns  have 
their  race-courses.  Out  on  the  prairies,  if  there  is 
no  race- course,  the  men  at  the  estancias  mark  out 
a  track  and  race  against  each  other's  horses  on 
Sunday  afternoons.  An  eye  is  kept  on  the  famous 
European  race-horses,  and  as  much  as  £40,000  has 
been  paid  for  a  great  winner,  so  that  he  may  be 


LIVE   STOCK    IN   THE    REPUBLIC    123 

used  for  stud  purposes.  The  breeding  of  thorough- 
breds has  become  part  of  the  national  Hfe  of  the 
RepubUc.  The  Jockey  Club  at  Buenos  Aires,  pos- 
sessed of  an  enormous  income,  has  by  the  offering 
of  handsome  prizes  encouraged  the  breeding  of 
race- horses.  The  Argentine  stud  farms  are,  in 
excellence  of  stabling  and  general  surroundings, 
lavish  in  luxury.  So  successful  has  been  the  breed- 
ing from  expensive  European  sires  that  European 
breeders  are  now  looking  to  Argentina  to  purchase 
some  of  the  sons. 

But  always,  one  must  remember,  the  prosperity 
of  Argentina  rests  with  her  commercial  cattle.  As 
England  prohibits  the  landing  of  live  cattle  for 
fear  of  foot-and-mouth  disease,  increasing  attention 
has  been  given  to  the  business  of  exporting  chilled 
and  frozen  meat.  The  closing  of  British  ports 
and  consequent  slump  in  Argentine  cattle  gave  a 
colossal  impetus  to  the  frozen  meat  industry,  so 
that  at  the  present  time  the  Republic  is  the  greatest 
exporter  of  frozen  meat  in  the  world.  That,  perhaps, 
is  the  reward  for  Argentina's  being  the  first  country 
to  export  chilled  and  frozen  meat  to  Europe.  This 
was  as  far  back  as  1877,  though  it  was  not  until 
1885  that  the  first  freezing  works  were  established. 
To-day  something  like  £11,000,000,  mostly  EngUsh 
and  United  States  capital,  is  sunk  in  Argentine 
freezing  houses.  England  is  the  largest  consumer. 
But  though  the  quantity  imported  is  enormous,  it 
is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  frozen  meat  is  yet 
ahead   of  English   home-killed   meat.     As   a   nation 


124         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

we  are  increasing  meat  eaters.  We  are  now  con- 
suming something  approaching  two  milUon  quarters 
a  year.  Only  about  a  third  of  this  is  chilled  and 
frozen  meat,  and  the  consumption  of  home  meat 
is  increasing,  not  decreasing. 

That  there  is  foot-and-mouth  disease  in  Argentina 
is  undoubted.  Though  the  Argentines  protest  we 
continue  the  cry  as  an  excuse  for  keeping  out  their 
stock  from  our  meadows  and  from  competing  with 
our  own  fresh  meat,  I  was  quite  convinced  that 
the  disease  does  seriously  exist  in  Argentina,  and 
that,  whilst  not  so  prevalent  as  occasionally  alleged, 
it  is  sufficiently  bad  to  justify  the  British  Board 
of  Agriculture  in  maintaining  the  prohibition.  With 
care,  however,  I  am  sure  the  Argentines  could  stamp 
out  the  evil.  Its  persistence  is  due  to  careless- 
ness. The  natural  conditions  of  the  cattle,  being 
out  on  the  pastures  all  the  year  round,  count  for 
healthiness.  I  have  visited  the  great  canned  meat 
establishments  in  Chicago,  and  when  in  Buenos 
Aires  and  La  Plata  I  inspected  some  of  the  biggest 
of  the  Argentine  freezing  places.  Though  the  latter 
lacked  the  magnitude  of  the  Chicago  houses,  I  admit 
my  complete  satisfaction  with  the  sanitary  con- 
ditions surrounding  what,  to  me,  is  always  a  sicken- 
ing business. 

When  a  mob  of  cattle  has  been  purchased  the 
seller  gives  a  guarantee  of  the  soundness  of  the 
animals.  When  they  reach  the  stock-yard  the 
veterinary  surgeon  of  the  company  makes  inspection 
of  each  beast  before  it  goes  to  the  slaughter-house. 


LIVE    STOCK    IN   THE    REPUBLIC    125 

The  operation  is  the  usual  one  :  the  animal  is  pole- 
axed,  then  the  carcase  is  conveyed  on  a  truck  to 
a  shed,  where  it  is  hung  up,  bled,  disembowelled, 
and  skinned.  The  veterinary  surgeon  makes  an 
examination  to  see  if  he  can  detect  disease.  But 
this  is  not  enough  ;  a  piece  of  the  meat,  a  few  ounces, 
is  cut  off,  labelled,  and  sent  to  a  laboratory,  where 
further  experiments  are  made.  There  is  much 
greater  care  taken  in  these  slaughter-houses  of 
Argentina  in  the  case  of  chilled  and  frozen  meat 
than  is  usually  taken  at  home  in  providing  the 
"  roast  beef  of  old  England."  The  carcases  are  placed 
in  a  chilling  chamber,  34°  Fahr.,  for  twenty-four 
hours.  Then  they  are  cut  in  two,  each  side  wrapped 
in  a  cloth,  and  taken  into  the  refrigerator  com- 
partments on  board  a  steamer.  Should  the  in- 
vestigation in  the  laboratory  reveal  disease  the 
carcase  is  burnt. 

To  the  layman  inclined  to  be  confused  between 
the  terms  "  chilled "  and  "  frozen,"  it  is  well  to 
explain  the  difference.  Frozen  meat  is  that  which 
has  been  kept  well  below  freezing  point,  and  can 
be  kept  for  an  indefinite  time.  Chilled  meat  is 
not  frozen,  but  it  can  be  kept  wholesome  for  some 
weeks  when  in  a  low  temperature.  Chilled  meat 
is  of  better  quality  than  frozen  meat,  and,  as  the 
Argentine  ports  are  within  three  weeks  of  Smith- 
field,  her  produce  has  a  distinct  advantage  over 
that  of  countries  farther  away,  where  the  journey 
takes  six  weeks,  and  the  meat  cannot  be  kept  chilled, 
but  must  be  frozen. 


126         THE   AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

I  am  aware  of  the  prejudice  against  chilled  meat. 
Yet  I  suspect  that  occasionally  some  of  us,  when 
paying  for  the  home  article,  are  really  receiving 
the  foreign  meat,  but  we  do  not  know  the  differ- 
ence. The  chilled  meat  trade — a  later  development 
than  the  frozen  trade — has  sprung  into  existence  in 
Argentina  mainly  during  the  last  dozen  years. 
That  which  we  get  in  London,  whether  from  La 
Plata,  Buenos  Aires,  or  Chicago,  is  of  better  quality 
than  the  meat  the  Argentine  or  the  American  gets. 
The  explanation  is  that  the  best  meat  is  exported 
because  it  has  to  come  into  competition  with  British 
beef,  which  admittedly  is  the  best  in  the  world. 
The  question,  however,  arises.  What  real  detriment 
is  there  to  meat  as  the  result  of  freezing  ?  Pro- 
fessor Rideal,  of  London  University,  who  has  made 
various  experiments,  has  gone  so  far  as  to  declare 
that  the  nutritive  and  digestive  qualities  of  Argen- 
tine frozen  meat  are  superior  to  those  of  the  best 
freshly  killed  English  meats,  and  that  Argentine 
chilled  meats  possess  the  same  qualities  as  English 
meat. 

It  was  in  1880  that  we  began  to  receive  frozen 
meat  in  any  quantity  from  the  Argentine,  and 
year  by  year  the  quantity  has  increased.  Other 
European^  countries  are  in  need  of  cheap  meat,  and 
yet  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  nine-tenths  of  the  cold 
storage  meat  of  the  world  comes  to  England.  Just 
upon  two  hundred  and  fifty  steamers  are  now  engaged 
in  bringing  chilled  or  frozen  meat  to  England  from 
Argentina,    Australia,    and   New    Zealand.     London 


LIVE    STOCK    IN    THE    REPUBLIC    i^7 

alone  has  thirty  cold  stores  with  a  capacity  for 
storing  3,000,000  carcases  of  mutton.  South  America, 
Australia,  and  New  Zealand  have  seventy  freezing 
establishments,  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  supply- 
ing the  British  market.  Satisfactory  though  that 
market  is,  Argentina  is  not  content.  She  is  begin- 
ning to  import  her  chilled  meat  into  the  United 
States.  She  is  making  a  bid  for  the  French  market. 
Professor  Armand  Gautier,  of  the  Academy  of 
Science,  of  Paris,  has  stated  that  the  French  people 
ought  to  eat  a  third  more  meat  than  they  do.  As 
the  French  production  is  insufficient,  he  has  urged 
the  importation  of  meat  preserved  by  cold,  because 
it  can  be  kept  almost  indefinitely,  and  because'  in 
times  of  epidemic  disease  in  live  stock,  or  lack  of 
forage,  and  above  all  in  time  of  war,  it  would  lend 
most  important  service. 

For  a  long  time,  however.  Continental  countries 
have  been  shy  about  foreign  meat,  chiefly,  I  believe, 
because  they  were  thinking  of  the  interests  of  the 
breeders  at  home.  Frozen  meat  has,  however,  been 
received  in  limited  quantities  in  Italy,  Switzerland, 
and  Portugal.  The  Austrian  Government  at  first 
restricted  the  importation  to  10,000  tons,  but  as 
the  meat  was  popular  the  restriction  was  removed. 
So,  gradually,  frozen  meat  of  good  quality,  and 
cheaper  than  native  meat,  is  finding  a  way  into 
other  European  markets  besides  our  own.  The 
German- Argentine  Society,  recently  formed,  has 
been  petitioning  the  German  Parliament  for  the 
admission  of  Argentine  frozen  meat.     The  consider- 


228         THE    AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

able  consumption  of  frozen  meat  in  England  is 
encouraging  Argentina  in  her  ambition  to  contri- 
bute to  the  feeding  of  the  immense  artisan  popula- 
tions in  the  industrial  centres  of  the  continent. 

Now  anyone  who  has  been  much  at  sea  knows 
about  jerked  beef.  The  preparation  of  salt  beef  in 
the  old  sailing  days  was  a  great  business,  and  Argen- 
tina's first  endeavour  in  the  meat  business  was  the 
preparation  of  jerked  beef,  as  it  is  called.  It  is 
not  going  too  far  to  say  that  it  was  this  business 
which  opened  the  eyes  of  South  Americans  to  the 
potentialities  of  their  country.  But  gradually  the 
trade  got  shifted  to  the  neighbouring  little  Republic 
of  Uruguay,  with  Monte  Video  as  the  chief  place 
of  export.  A  great  many  of  the  cattle  killed  in 
Uruguay  are  bred  in  Argentina.  The  trade  has 
extended  to  Brazil.  Brazil,  however,  still  calls  for 
Argentine  cattle.  So  although  this  dry-salting  was 
first  practised  in  Argentina  in  South  America,  and 
the  trade  has  to  a  great  extent  been  removed,  Argen- 
tina is  getting  benefit  because  she  sells  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  steers  to  the  neighbouring  republics. 
During  the  last  year  or  two  there  has  been  a  distinct 
movement  in  Argentina  to  recapture  the  trade. 
There  is  a  huge  demand  for  jerked  meat  in  Cuba — 
and  Argentina  is  after  the  business.  Argentina  has 
both  eyes  on  the  whole  of  the  West  Indies,  where 
there  are  great  negro  populations  who,  it  is  supposed, 
would  welcome  this  cheap  kind  of  meat.  It  can  be 
used  in  tropical  regions  where  expensive  cold  storage 
would    be    an    impossibility.     Besides,    an    inferior 


LIVE    STOCK   IN   THE    REPUBLIC    129 

standard  of  animal,  scarcely  suitable  for  freezing, 
can  be  jerked. 

The  gigantic  business  in  meat  extracts  carried 
on  by  such  firms  as  Bovril  and  Liebig  has  given 
a  cue  to  the  wide-awake  Argentine  for  another 
outlet  to  his  enterprise.  Indeed,  the  preparation  of 
meat  extract  in  Argentina  to-day  needs  the  killing 
of  200,000  head  of  cattle  a  year,  whilst  those  killed 
for  jerked  beef  are  about  three-quarters  of  that 
number.  Anyway,  Argentines,  whilst  glad  enough 
to  have  foreign  capital  brought  to  develop  their 
resources,  are  now  constantly  asking  themselves, 
"  Why  do  not  we  do  all  this  ?  " 

The  fact  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that  Argen- 
tina has  a  population  of  7,000,000  to  feed  as  well 
as  to  contribute  to  the  feeding  of  the  outer  world. 
The  population  of  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires  is  a 
million  and  a  half.  So,  whilst  it  needs  the  killing 
of  4,000  head  of  cattle  every  day  to  keep  the  Republic 
supplied  with  meat,  1,800  of  these  are  needed  in 
the  capital. 

England  clings  to  old  and  sometimes  unsatisfactory 
ways.  When  I  visited  the  abattoirs  at  Liniers  I 
thought  it  would  be  no  bad  thing  if  a  number  of 
British  municipalities  sent  a  shipload  of  representa- 
tives to  Argentina  to  study  up-to-date  slaughter- 
houses. One  of  the  most  important  features  of 
Liniers  is  the  veterinary  pavilion,  with  rooms  for 
bacteriological  and  microscopical  observations.  There 
are  twenty  veterinary  surgeons  who  make  it  their 
business  to  examine  every  carcase  and  stamp  it 
J 


130         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

before  it  is  permitted  to  be  sold  as  food.  The  annual 
entry  at  the  abattoir  is,  in  round  numbers,  750,000 
sheep,  100,000  pigs,  and  1,250,000  cattle.  Yet  the 
animals  slaughtered  for  local  consumption  repre- 
sent only  three-fifths  of  the  beasts  sold  in  Buenos 
Aires,  the  rest  going  to  the  slaughter-yards  attached 
to  the  freezing  houses.  These  animals  are  not  reared 
only  in  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires.  Other  pro- 
vinces supply  cattle,  Cordoba,  Santa  F6,  Entre  Rios, 
Corrientes,  and  further  afield. 

One  of  the  most  instructive  places  is  the  sheep 
market,  covering  500  acres.  Not  only  are  there 
pens  innumerable,  but  there  are  two  galleries  set 
apart  for  sales  so  that  buyers  may  obtain  a  quick 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  stock  offered.  A  police  repre- 
sentative is  constantly  on  duty,  keeping  a  look- 
out that  the  marks  are  all  right  and  preventing 
sheep  stealing.  Ten  sanitary  inspectors  make  in- 
spection of  sheep  as  they  go  along  the  gangway 
or  race.  Any  sheep  showing  signs  of  disease  is 
sent  to  the  necropolis — supervised  by  the  cattle 
division  of  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture — is  killed 
and  examined.  Over  4,000,000  sheep  are  inspected 
every  year.  Of  these  nearly  3,000,000  go  to  the 
freezing  establishments  and  the  others  are  either 
for  local  consumption  or  are  bought  to  be  fattened. 
On  an  average  4,000  railway  wagons  a  month  come 
in  to  Buenos  Aires  filled  with  sheep. 

More  than  once  I  was  made  conscious  of  the 
deep  disappointment  amongst  Argentine  breeders 
that  there   is   an   embargo   in   Britain  against   the 


LIVE   STOCK    IN   THE    REPUBLIC    131 

importation    of   live    stock.     They    insisted    that    if 
there  were  disease  it  would  show  itself  during  the 
three  weeks'  sea  journey,  so  that  British  herd  owners 
should  have  no  fear  of  their  own  cattle  being  con- 
taminated.    The   Argentines   cannot   get   it   out   of 
their  minds  that  it  is  not  fear  of  disease,  but  pro- 
tection for  the  British  farmer  which  really  actuates 
the  British  Board  of  Agriculture.     Notwithstanding 
the  increase  in  the  sale  of  chilled  and  frozen  meat, 
the  Argentines,  of  course,  recognise  that  the  English- 
man would  prefer  fresh  killed  meat  if  he  could  get 
it  at  a  sufficiently  cheap  price.     The  steady  increase 
in  the  price  of  home-grown  meat  in  English  shops 
is  noted,  and  all  the  strings  possible  are  being  tugged 
in  order  to  induce  the  British  Government  to  relax. 
Besides,  there  is  a  considerable  body  of  opinion  in 
Great  Britain  itself,   occasionally  voiced  in  Parlia- 
ment by  the  representatives  of  industrial  constitu- 
encies,   favourable    to    the    importation    of    foreign 
animals,   of  course  under  proper  inspection.     Were 
admission  granted,   there  would  undoubtedly  be  a 
fall  in  the  price  of  meat.     But,  even  eliminating  the 
natural  antagonism  of  the  British  farmer,  there  is 
the    consumer   to   be   considered.     Without   joining 
in  the  combat  whether  Argentine  meat  is  as  good 
as  British  meat,   there  can  be  no   doubt  that  the 
home  buyer  prefers  the  home  article,  and  in  innu- 
merable cases  he  is  prepared  to  pay  more  for  it. 
There  is  the  possibility,  the  danger  if  you  like,   if 
live  stock  from  Argentina  were  admitted,  for  certain 
graziers  to  buy  them,  give  them  a  week  or  two  on 


132         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

English  meadows,  and  for  the  retail  butchers,  either 
in  ignorance  or  with  the  intention  to  mislead  the 
purchaser,  to  ticket  the  sides  as  "  English  fed." 

Though  Argentines  grumble  at  the  British  ports 
being  closed  to  them,  causing  a  slump  in  their  export 
of  live  stock,  they  acknowledge  that  the  effect  has 
been  counterbalanced  by  the  increase  in  the  export 
of  frozen  meat.  "  Therefore  why  should  they  make 
such  a  fuss  ?  "  may  be  asked.  Simply  because  the 
Argentines  are  eager  to  find  an  outlet  for  the  pro- 
ductive capacity  of  their  country.  They  do  not 
rest  on  their  oars.  They  are  looking  to  the  future. 
There  is  no  question  in  their  minds  what  Argentina 
can  do.  They  do  not  want  to  be  baulked  by  restric- 
tions. It  may  be  argued  that,  whilst  they  are  zealous 
to  secure  freedom  for  their  goods  in  oversea  markets, 
they  do  not  show  any  inclination  to  give  an  equally 
wide  freedom  to  the  goods  of  other  countries  in 
their  own  markets.  That,  however,  just  shows  that 
considerations  which  often  influence  individual  traders 
do  not  disappear  when  the  nation  acts  collectively. 

The  point  to  be  marked — and  it  is  the  significance 
of  much  in  this  chapter — is,  that  although  other 
new  nations  provide  increasing  amounts  of  meat, 
Argentina  is  as  alive  as  any  of  them  to  the  growing 
necessity  for  the  industrial  communities  of  Europe 
— constantly  increasing  whilst  agriculture  stands 
still  or  slides  back — to  look  across  the  oceans  for 
their  meat  supply.  The  meat  will  be  wanted.  Com- 
petition to  supply  it  will  be  keen.  In  some  Euro- 
pean countries  the  live  stock  is  diminishing.  Countries 


LIVE    STOCK    IN    THE    REPUBLIC    i33 

which  formerly  did  much  business  in  supplying  neigh- 
bours have  now  enough  to  do  to  supply  themselves. 
Even  Switzerland,  unable  to  provide  for  her  own 
needs,  and  no  longer  able  to  get  what  she  requires 
from  France  and  Italy,  has  turned  to  Argentina. 
The  doors  are  closed  by  some  European  Powers, 
including  Spain.  But  Argentina  is  keeping  a  watch 
on  the  artisan  classes  in  commercial  Europe.  She 
expects  the  day  will  soon  come  when  they  will  clamour 
for  cheaper  meat,  and  break  down  the  doors.  When 
that  time  does  come,  Argentina  is  determined  to  be 
ready  with  a  full  basket. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   STORY  OF  THE   RAILWAYS 

I  THINK  I  have  made  it  clear  that,  accepting  Argen- 
tina as  an  amazingly  fertile  country,  it  is  the  rail- 
ways that  have  chiefly  been  instrumental  in  making 
it  one  of  the  most  prosperous  lands,  with  a  big 
part  to  play  in  providing  food  for  the  world.  To-day 
95  per  cent,  of  its  stock  and  produce  is  carried  over 
some  part  of  the  20,000  miles  of  line  representing 
nearly  £200,000,000  of  British  capital. 

I  remember  riding  in  a  coach  attached  to  a 
freight  train  across  some  hundreds  of  miles  of  sand 
and  sage  bush,  an  impossible  region  from  an  agricul- 
turist's point  of  view. 

"  This  is  an  unprofitable  stretch,"  I  remarked 
to  the  railway  official  who  was  my  companion. 

"  Not  at  all,"  was  the  reply ;  "  you  see,  we  have 
a  full  load,  and  we  get  paid  mileage,  whether  we 
run  through  good  or  bad  land." 

That  is  one  of  the  causes  of  railway  profits  in 
Argentina :  the  enormous  distances  freight  often 
has  to  be  carried. 

It  was  not  my  lot  to  travel  over  all  the  railway 
systems  in  the  Argentine,  but  I  travelled  over  the 
most  important  of  them,  and  from  first  to  last  I  was 
enthusiastic.    The   rolling    stock    is    excellent ;    the 

134 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    RAILWAYS    i35 

permanent  way  is  better  than  over  similar  country 
elsewhere,  and  as  for  the  comfort  of  the  passengers 
it  is  certainly  unsurpassed.  Frankly,  I  often  felt 
like  rubbing  my  eyes  in  order  to  make  sure  I  was 
"  roughing  it  "  in  Southern  America. 

Nowhere,  out  of  Russia,  have  I  seen  the  coaches 
so  admirably  adapted  for  small  or  large  parties. 
You  can  have  a  section  of  a  coach  self-contained, 
dining-room,  bedrooms  and  bathroom,  suitable  for 
families  ;  and  meals  can  be  supplied  from  the  buffet. 
If  you  travel  over  a  certain  distance  you  cannot  miss 
having  a  buffet  car ;  the  law  insists.  Also  the  law 
insists  on  dormitory  coaches  on  the  all-night  journeys. 
They  are  more  commodious,  because  on  most  of  the 
lines  the  gauge  is  wider  than  in  England.  There  is 
none  of  the  uncomfortable  sleeping  behind  curtains, 
with,  maybe,  a  stranger  in  the  bunk  overhead,  and 
then  having  to  wash  in  the  smoking-room,  which 
the  long-suffering  men  of  the  United  States  put  up 
with  under  the  notion  they  possess  the  most  luxuri- 
ous travelling  in  the  world.  When  you  come  to 
"  special  cars,"  a  thing  we  know  nothing  about  in 
England  except  for  royalty,  the  United  States  comes 
first,  but  I  would  say  Argentina  is  a  close  second. 

Nothing  could  be  jollier — when  a  sand  storm  is 
not  on  the  wing — than  travelling  with  pleasant 
friends  in  a  reserved  coach.  It  is  like  a  flat.  There 
is  a  sitting-room,  and  on  a  chill  evening  the  fire 
burns  brightly  in  an  open  grate.  On  a  hot  after- 
noon you  have  your  easy  chairs  out  on  the  platform 
at  the  rear  and,  with  legs  cocked  up  on  the  rail, 


136         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

you  can  smoke  your  cigar.  You  press  a  button, 
and  when  the  attendant  has  brought  you  an  iced 
cocktail  you  agree  that  "  roughing  it  "  in  Argentina 
is  a  delightful  experience.  If  your  car  is  properly 
equipped  with  a  good  kitchen  and  a  good  cook, 
and  there  is  a  decent  "  cellar  " — hospitality  is  one 
of  the  legitimate  boasts  of  the  people — you  fare  as 
well  as  you  would  do  in  a  first-class  hotel.  Were 
it  not  that  I  might  be  thought  a  sybarite,  I  could 
write  like  a  chef  about  the  menus  I  experienced  and 
enjoyed  in  my  long  excursions  throughout  the  land. 

"  This  is  a  nice  chicken,"  I  said  to  my  host  one 
night.  "  Yes,  we  have  a  chicken  run  under  the 
car,"  he  answered.  I  laughed,  for  I  imagined  the 
innocent  stranger  was  having  his  leg  pulled  ;  but 
the  next  morning  personal  inspection  assured  me 
there  was  a  "  run,"  in  the  shape  of  a  long  galvanised 
screened  box  beneath  the  car. 

It  was  pleasant  to  have  a  bedroom  four  times 
the  size  of  a  crib  on  an  English  "  sleeper,"  to  have 
a  writing-table  with  electric  light,  and  a  bathroom 
adjoining.  But  the  chief  joy  of  a  special  car  was 
that  there  was  no  changing  to  catch  trains.  In- 
structions were  given  that  we  would  stop  at  a  certain 
place  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  car  was 
detached  and  shunted  into  a  siding.  We  lived  on 
the  car  and  slept  on  it.  Orders  were  given  that 
we  were  to  be  picked  up  by  the  8.15  local  train  in 
the  morning,  taken  down  a  branch  line  forty  miles, 
attached  to  the  express  which  would  be  coming 
along   at   seven   o'clock,    and   were   to   be   released 


THE   STORY   OF   THE    RAILWAYS    137 

somewhere  else  at  10.15  and  put  into  a  siding.  I 
lived  this  sort  of  life  for  nearly  a  month.  It  was 
the  best  possible  way  of  seeing  the  country. 

Sometimes  we  travelled  from  point  to  point  during 
the  night ;  sometimes  we  camped,  as  it  were,  at  a 
little  wayside  station,  with  the  silence  of  the  plains 
around  us  except  when  a  great  goods  train  went 
roaring  by.  We  kept  up  the  joke  about  "  roughing 
it."  After  a  dinner  party,  when  the  coffee  and 
liqueurs  were  on  the  table,  and  the  sitting-room  was 
pouring  billows  of  cigar  smoke  from  the  wide-open 
windows,  we  leaned  back  in  our  big  chairs  and  hoped 
that  other  poor  devils  who  were  "  roughing  it "  in 
the  wilds  were  having  no  worse  a  time  than  we  were. 

Of  course,  the  passenger  traffic — except  around 
Buenos  Aires — is  a  secondary  consideration  compared 
with  agricultural  produce.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
area  of  land  suitable  for  agriculture  but  not  yet 
cultivated  is  290,000,000  acres,  really  all  beyond  the 
zone  of  railway  influence.  At  a  greater  distance 
than  fifteen  miles  from  a  railway  station  the  cartage 
of  the  produce  becomes  so  expensive  and  difficult 
that  the  profit  disappears.  Information  supplied  me 
by  the  Argentine  Agricultural  Society  shows  that  the 
average  cost  of  cartage  is  0.70d.  per  mile  per  cwt. 
Therefore,  whoever  has  his  farm  farther  than  fifteen 
miles  from  a  station  has  to  pay  lOd.  per  cwt.  for 
cartage.  Lands  lying  within  the  agricultural  zone, 
but  distant  more  than  fifteen  miles  from  a  railway 
station,  lose  enormously  in  value,  as  they  cannot 
be  utilised  except  for  live  stock.     To  find  a  means 


138         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

of  facilitating  and  cheapening  the  transport  of  cereals 
would  be  to  double  the  production  and  value  of  the 
lands.  The  Agricultural  Society  thinks  the  solution 
may  lie  in  the  construction  of  cheap  auxiliary  lines 
of  the  simplest  kind,  which,  laid  down  parallel  to 
the  principal  lines  at  a  distance  of  nineteen  to  twenty- 
two  miles,  or  at  right  angles  to  them,  would  hand 
over  to  cultivation  considerable  zones  of  valuable 
fertile  lands,  and  concentrate  the  produce  in  the 
loading  stations  at  a  fair  cost  to  the  farmers. 

The  question  is  well  asked,  if  the  20,000  miles 
of  rails  are  only  sufficient  to  permit  the  cultivation 
of  70,000,000  acres,  how  many  will  be  necessary 
when  nearly  300,000,000  more  acres  are  being  worked  ? 
At  present  about  1,000  miles  of  fresh  railroad  are 
being  laid  down  each  year.  £20,000,000  a  year  is 
being  put  into  new  railroad  construction.  Yet  thirty 
years  ago  (1884)  the  total  amount  invested  in  Argen- 
tine railways — now  running  into  hundreds  of  millions 
— ^was  only  £18,600,000.  In  1885  all  the  railways  in 
the  Republic  transported  cargo  amounting  to  a 
little  over  3,000,000  tons.  In  1905  it  was  over 
12,500,000  tons.  In  1913  it  was  moving  toward 
40,000,000  tons. 

One  harks  back  to  the  time  of  William  Wheel- 
wright, who  may  be  called  the  father  of  railways 
in  Argentina.  It  is  three-quarters  of  a  century 
since  he  was  shipwrecked  at  the  mouth  of  the  River 
Plate.  It  was  as  a  starveling  that  he  got  his  first 
knowledge  of  Argentina.  He  had  come  from  the 
United  States,  knew  what  railways  were  beginning 


THE    STORY    OF   THE    RAILWAYS    139 

to  do  for  the  North,  and  dreamed  what  they  ought 
to  do  for  the  South.  When  he  got  back  to  the  United 
States  he  tried  to  interest  his  countrymen.  But 
the  North  Americans  turned  a  deaf  ear.  There  they 
missed  one  of  the  greatest  chances  in  their  com- 
mercial history.  Had  they  seized  their  opportu- 
nities, and  come  to  South  America  with  their  adaptive 
enterprise,  the  story  of  the  relationship  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Latin  republics  below  them 
would  have  been  very  different  from  what  it  is 
to-day.  Finding  he  could  raise  no  capital  in  his 
own  country  for  railway  enterprise  in  Argentina, 
William  Wheelwright  came  to  England  and  interested 
Thomas  Brassey,  one  of  our  railway  pioneers. 
Brassey,  Wheelwright,  and  others  got  capital,  and 
a  little  line  out  of  "  B.A."  was  built.  Other  little 
lines  were  built.  Bigger  lines  were  built.  There 
were  set-backs ;  occasionally  the  investing  public 
was  shy.  But,  all  told,  for  forty  years  a  mile  a  day 
of  railroad  was  laid  down  in  Argentina,  and  during 
the  last  few  years  the  rate  has  been  three  miles  a 
day.     And  it  is  all  done  by  British  capital. 

Before  I  went  out  to  this  country  I  was  conscious 
of  a  certain  apprehension  in  England  that  we  had 
rather  too  much  money  in  Argentina,  and  that  it 
was  about  time  we  called  a  halt.  The  general  aver- 
age of  dividend  during  recent  years  has  been  a 
fraction  over  5  per  cent.,  not  much  return  for  adven- 
ture in  a  new  country ;  but  the  fact  is  not  to  be 
lost  sight  of  that  enormous  extensions  have  been 
provided  out  of  revenue,   as  well  as  out  of  fresh 


140         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

capital.  That  there  is  jealousy  amongst  consider- 
able sections  of  the  young  Argentines  at  the  financial 
interests  which  a  foreign  country  like  England  has 
in  the  Republic  is  undoubted.  But  it  may  be  said 
that  the  mass  of  the  people  recognise  what  they  owe 
to  foreign  capital,  and  although  the  Government 
is  inclined  to  increase  the  tightness  of  its  grip  on 
railway  administration,  making  bargains  for  lines 
through  uneconomic  country  in  return  for  a  con- 
cession through  fertile  land — so  that  occasionally  a 
company  will  throw  up  a  scheme  rather  than  pay 
the  price  by  building  in  a  region  the  Government 
wants  to  be  developed — I  do  not  think  it  can  fairly 
be  said  that  the  Government  is  antagonistic  to  foreign 
capital.  The  danger  of  foreign  capital  getting  a  hold 
on  Argentina  in  the  way  of  extensive  concessions  is 
sometimes  preached ;  but  the  pouring  of  foreign 
gold  into  the  country  brings  too  precious  a  return 
to  the  Argentines  themselves  for  any  check  to  be 
put  upon  it. 

Besides,  in  strict  fact,  very  little  money  is  taken 
out  of  the  country  in  the  way  of  dividend ;  the  pro- 
fits are  mostly  thrown  back  to  provide  new  works. 
I  have  lying  before  me  the  returns  of  the  four  princi- 
pal railways  for  the  year  ending  June  13th,  1913 
(the  Central  Argentine,  the  Great  Southern,  the 
Buenos  Aires  and  Pacific,  and  the  Western  of  Buenos 
Aires).  During  the  year  the  four  companies  expended 
in  additional  capital  £8,870,639,  and  the  earnings 
were  £9,017,944,  so  that  the  investing  public  ex- 
tracted only  £147,805,   which  is  not  a  large  draft 


THE   STORY    OF   THE    RAILWAYS    141 

in  return  for  the  hundreds  of  millions  invested.  The 
manner  in  which  the  earnings  are  thrown  back  into 
the  country  for  further  development  shows  that, 
despite  the  vague  apprehensions  in  certain  quarters, 
the  public  confidence  is  still  firm. 

The  Central  Argentine  Railway  may  first  be 
described,  because  not  only  does  it  date  its  origin 
from  the  earliest  times  of  railway  enterprise  in  the 
Republic,  but  it  is  one  of  the  most  up-to-date  lines 
in  the  world.  At  the  head  of  it  as  general  manager 
is  Mr.  C.  H.  Pearson,  young,  shrewd,  and,  like  most 
strong  men,  a  quiet  man.  When  in  England  I  hear 
of  lack  of  capability  in  railway  management  I  think 
of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Pearson,  who  has  won  his  spurs 
at  home,  and  by  clear  vision  and  steady,  determined 
action  is  successfully  directing  a  company  which 
has  3,000  miles  of  railroad,  most  of  it  through  rich 
country.  The  line  to-day  is  the  offspring  of  amal- 
gamations. In  the  early  'seventies  the  Central  Argen- 
tine opened  a  line  from  the  river  port  of  Rosario  to 
Cordoba,  two  hundred  and  forty-six  miles.  Later 
on  Buenos  Aires  and  Rosario  were  joined  by  another 
railway  company.  Subsequently  the  two  lines  were 
linked.  Always,  without  halt,  the  line  has  pushed 
its  head  into  fresh  country,  until  now  its  arms 
stretch  like  a  fan  with  Buenos  Aires  as  the  base. 

I  have  heard  Buenos  Aires  and  Rosario  described 
as  the  London  and  Liverpool  of  Argentina — and  the 
illustration  is  apt.  Rosario,  to  be  pictured  in  a  later 
chapter,  is  a  business  and  shipping  centre,  and 
between  the  two  towns  there  is  a  constant  rush  by 


142         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

commercial  men.  It  is  inspiriting  to  see  the  rush 
at  the  Retiro  station  in  the  early  morning,  when  men 
are  busy  getting  their  newspapers  at  the  stalls  and 
hastening  to  the  breakfast  car  and  the  roomy  coaches. 
To  the  eye  of  the  newly  arrived  stranger  there  are 
innumerable  little  differences  from  things  he  is  accus- 
tomed to  at  home.  But  they  are  matters  of  detail 
to  which  you  speedily  get  used,  so  that  after  a  week 
or  two,  or  even  a  few  days,  you  have  a  little  start 
in  the  realisation  that  you  are  not  travelling  in  a 
London  and  North- Western  express,  but  amongst 
a  similar  crowd  of  business  men,  in  a  far  part  of 
the  world,  who  are  intent  on  their  own  affairs. 

Twelve  passenger  trains  journey  daily  between 
Buenos  Aires  and  Rosario.  Until  Mr.  Pearson  came 
along  with  fresh  ideas  most  of  the  passenger  traffic 
was  by  night.  Trains  left  both  places  at  ten  o'clock ; 
the  passengers  went  to  bed,  and  early  next  morning 
the  destination  was  reached.  Now  there  are  two 
day  express  trains  completing  the  journey  in  just 
under  five  hours.  Only  first-class  passengers  travel 
by  these  trains,  as  excellent  as  the  expresses  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  way  of  scenery  to  move  one  to  rapture ;  but 
there  is  good  agricultural  progress  on  either  side. 
The  line  is  being  double  tracked  and  stone  ballasted, 
and  the  running  is  comfortable.  And  sitting  in  this 
train,  thronged  with  business  men,  whilst  the  great 
engine  tears  along  to  keep  to  scheduled  time,  you 
understand  something  of  the  spirit  of  modern 
Argentina. 


THE    STORY    OF   THE    RAILWAYS    i43 

Amongst  the  cities   of  the   world  Buenos  Aires 
takes  thirteenth  place  in  size.     With  its  population 
of  a  million  and  a  half,  long-distance  electric  tram- 
cars    and    the    institution    of    an    "  underground " 
system    are    not    enough.     High    rents    are    driving 
many  thousands  to  the  suburbs,  and  when,  in  the 
morning,  the  rush  of  trains  begins  to  deliver  throngs 
of  men  and  women  into  the  heart  of  "  B.A.,"  the 
scene  is  animated.     All  the  big  companies  running 
out  of  "  B.A."  are  nursing  their  valuable  suburban 
traffic.     The   Central   Argentine   is   electrifying  over 
forty-four  miles  of  double  track  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  city.     This  company,  in  the  suburban  section 
of  its  system,   now  carries  15,000,000  passengers  a 
year.     All  the  trains  of  the  company  run  889,000 
miles  a  month.     A  handsome  new  station  is  being 
erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  Retiro.     I  was  able  to 
inspect  the   latest  pneumatic   system   of  signalling. 
When  at  Rosario  I  went  over  the  extensive  work- 
shops, and  although  it  would  be  idle  even  to  suggest 
they  compared  with  Crewe,  Swindon,  or  Doncaster, 
considering  most  of  the  parts  are  imported,  they  are 
comprehensive  works,  and  the  machinery  of  the  best. 
Since  Mr.  Pearson  has  been  in  charge  the  Central 
Argentine    has    taken    to    running    excursions,    and 
encouraging  the  holiday  makers  in  the  flat  lands  to 
go  and  seek  bracing  air  in  the  Cordoba  mountains. 
Alta  Gracia — of  which  more  anon — an  old  Spanish 
town  which  has  been  drowsing  in  the  sun  for  several 
centuries,  is  now  one  of  the  most  popular  of  holiday 
haunts. 


144         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

But,  though  naturally  enough  the  average  pas- 
senger considers  a  railway  line  from  the  way  it 
ministers  to  his  needs,  it  is  the  goods  traffic  which 
is  of  first  importance  to  railways  in  a  country  like 
Argentina.  I  went  on  the  Central  Argentine  line  as 
far  north  as  Tucuman,  and  as  far  west  as  Cordoba 
and  Rio  Cuarto,  and  beheld  the  richness  of  the 
plains.  There  were  endless  miles  of  wheat  and 
maize  and  linseed  ;  there  were  the  great  herds  of 
cattle  and  sheep.  I  witnessed  the  sugar  cane  harvest 
in  the  north  in  full  swing. 

All  the  goods  are  not  brought  into  "  B.A."  The 
line  runs  to  three  up-river  ports,  Rosario,  Villa 
Constitucion  and  Campana,  where  there  are  wide 
wharves  and  grain  elevators.  A  goods  tonnage  of 
nearly  7,000,000  a  year  and  receipts  of  nearly 
£8,500,000  a  year  spell  big  business.  Yet  one  found 
this  was  only  the  beginning  of  things.  Already 
there  are  gigantic  schemes  in  project  for  irrigation 
works  in  those  stretches  which  are  incapable  of  use 
because  of  the  insufficient  rainfall.  The  Argentine 
Government  is  giving  serious  attention  to  this  matter. 
But  the  railway  companies  in  the  Republic  are  not 
content  to  twiddle  their  thumbs  and  keep  asking, 
"  Why  does  not  the  Government  do  something  ?  " 
All  of  them  are  attending  to  irrigation  themselves, 
or  are  doing  the  work  for  the  Government.  The 
Central  Argentine,  on  behalf  of  the  Gk)vernment, 
have  an  irrigation  scheme  on  hand  which  will  cost 
close  upon  £600,000.  New  lines  and  extensions  up 
to    a    further    1,600    miles    are    projected    to    cost 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    RAILWAYS    i45 

£8,000,000.  Over  35,000  employees  are  on  this 
line.  The  length  of  rolling  stock  is  143  miles,  in- 
cluding 600  passenger  coaches  and  2,200  beds. 
Twenty  million  passengers  are  carried  a  year,  and 
the  total  receipts  work  out  at  £40  a  week  per  mile. 
The  second  big  railway  which  attracted  my 
admiration  was  the  Buenos  Aires  and  Pacific,  which 
strikes  westward  across  the  continent.  The  com- 
pany was  formed  as  recently  as  1882,  but  it  has  a 
present  capital  of  over  £50,500,000.  It  owns  1,406 
miles,  it  leases  2,011  miles,  and  so  operates  3,417 
miles.  Some  150  miles  are  under  construction.  It 
has  over  16,000,000  passengers  annually,  and  over 
6,000,000  tons  of  freight ;  and  its  gross  earnings 
in  the  last  financial  year  (July  1912  to  June  1913) 
were  £5,590,613.  During  the  last  ten  years  it  has 
absorbed  a  number  of  lesser  lines — the  Villa  Maria 
Rufino,  the  Bahia  Blanca  and  North- Western,  the 
Great  Western,  and,  lastly,  the  Argentine  Transan- 
dine.  It  has  also  bought  a  length  of  over  200  miles 
of  Government  line  out  in  the  west.  The  "  B.A. 
and  Pacific "  has  several  subsidiary  undertakings. 
In  conjunction  with  the  Great  Southern  Railway 
it  has  a  well-equipped  light  and  power  company. 
In  my  chapter  on  Bahia  Blanca  I  shall  deal  with  the 
port  accommodation  provided  by  the  Pacific  Com- 
pany to  dispatch  the  grain  produced  within  its  area 
to  Europe.  Perhaps  the  most  important  improve- 
ment made  by  the  company  has  been  the  high  level 
independent  access  to  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires. 
This  line,  which  is  five  miles  in  length,  consists  of 
K 


146         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

two  viaducts  of  brickwork,  containing  116  arches  of 
42.3  feet  span  each,  and  19  steel  bridges,  the  largest 
being  178.8  feet.  From  the  River  Plate  an  area  of 
866  acres  is  being  reclaimed  to  be  used  for  goods 
sidings  and  access  to  the  docks.  For  the  convey- 
ance of  coal,  and  materials  for  use  on  the  line,  the 
company  owns  its  own  fleet  of  steamers.  It  would 
be  easy  enough  to  give  a  bunch  of  figures  to  show 
how  the  passenger  traffic  has  grown ;  anyway,  its 
suburban  service  bears  comparison  with  that  of 
any  other  line  entering  the  capital. 

The  Buenos  Aires  and  Pacific  Railway  is  becom- 
ing increasingly  popular,  for  people  desiring  to  see 
the  world  now  travel  from  "  B.A."  across  the  pampas, 
over  the  Andes,  and  so  down  to  Valparaiso  in  Chili, 
where  steamers  can  be  obtained  to  take  them  up 
to  Peru,  Panama,  and  San  Francisco.  Leaving 
"  B.A.,"  the  train  runs  for  some  twelve  hours  across 
an  extensive  plain  which  is  far  from  indicating  to 
the  traveller  the  great  mountain  ranges  which  will 
surprise  him  later  on.  Across  this  plain  the  lines  of 
the  railway  extend  in  an  absolutely  straight  line 
from  Vedia  to  Makenna,  a  distance  of  175  miles, 
which  is  the  world's  record.  Near  the  first-mentioned 
station  the  railway  curves  in  the  form  of  an  S; 
without  this,  the  stretch  on  the  straight  would  have 
been  206  miles  long. 

Although  the  pampas  are  occasionally  marked  by 
undulations  and  small  green-covered  slopes,  the 
first  notable  elevations  are  not  encountered  until 
Mercedes  is  reached.     These  are  the  San  Luis  hills. 


THE    STORY   OF   THE    RAILWAYS    147 

the  outposts  of  the  Cordillera,  Passing  on  the 
western  side  of  this  chain  the  picturesque  city  of 
San  Luis  is  reached.  As  the  traveller  approaches 
the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes  he  finds  himself  in  a 
district  topographically  distinct  but  always  fertile, 
and  watered  by  canals  fed  by  the  Tunuyan  and 
Mendoza  rivers.  The  view  of  the  Cordillera  in  the 
early  morning  is  a  spectacle  worthy  of  admiration. 
At  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles  before  arrival  at 
Mendoza  the  interminable  chain  of  the  Andes,  with 
its  snow-capped  peaks  mingling  with  the  clouds, 
is  distinguishable.  As  the  train  approaches  their 
imposing  grandeur  becomes  more  and  more  evident. 
Another  of  the  views  which  delights  the  tourist,  and 
makes  the  business  man  think,  is  that  of  the 
smiling  vineyards  extending  on  both  sides  of  the 
line  in  a  delightful  prospect  until  lost  on  the  horizon.* 
From  Mendoza  the  line  runs  across  the  Andes  by 
the  Uspallata  Valley  route,  the  only  transcontinental 
line  in  South  America.  What  the  Suez  Canal  and 
the  Trans-Siberian  Railway  have  done  for  the  Far 
Eastern  trade,  the  Transandine  Railway  is  achiev- 
ing for  transcontinental  traffic  in  South  America  by 
giving  rapid  communication  between  the  two  South 
American  Republics — reducing  the  journey  between 
Buenos  Aires  and  Valparaiso  from  thirteen  and  a 
half  days  to  thirty-eight  hours — and  thereby  cement- 
ing closer  commercial  relations  and  developing  trade 
with  the  Far  East. 

♦  Subsequent   chapters    describe    Mendoza    and    the    author's 
personal  experience  during  a  trip  into  the  Andes. 


148         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

This  has  only  been  made  possible  by  the  summit 
tunnel  of  the  Transandine  Railway,  which  was  opened 
for  public  traffic  in  May,  1910,  so  that  the  distance 
between  Buenos  Aires  and  Valparaiso  has  been 
reduced  to  888  miles.  It  is  probably  of  interest  to 
state  that  this  tunnel  is  one  of  the  longest  of  its  kind 
in  the  world,  being  10,384  feet  long,  including  two 
artificial  ends  442  feet  in  length  altogether,  and  it 
lies  at  an  elevation  of  10,778  feet  above  the  sea- 
level.  It  is  nearly  1,500  feet  higher  than  the  highest 
carriage  road  in  Europe,  that  over  the  Stelvio  Pass, 
and  more  than  3,500  feet  higher  than  the  Mont 
Cenis,  St.  Gothard,  and  Simplon  tunnels.  So  well 
were  the  levels  and  lines  kept  that  the  difference  at 
the  junction  was  only  f  inch,  and  of  the  line  2|  inches, 
while  the  chainage  was  only  2.14  inches  less  than 
calculated.  At  one  period  1,700  men  were  engaged 
on  the  works. 

Unfortunately,  the  beautiful  and  impressive  bronze 
statue  of  the  Christ  is  not  visible  to  passengers  in  the 
train,  but  it  can  easily  be  reached  by  coach  or 
mule  from  Inca.  It  stands  some  3,000  feet  higher 
than  Las  Cuevas,  and  is  situated  on  the  dividing 
line  between  Argentina  and  Chili.  It  was  the 
gift  of  a  pious  Buenos  Aires  lady,  Seiiora  Cesar 
de  Costa,  and  was  erected  as  a  monument  to  the 
signing  of  the  peace  treaty  between  the  two 
countries. 

The  Pacific  Railway  has  expended  over  £80,000 
in  snow  protection  for  their  line  during  the  past 
two  years,  with  the  result  that  through  traffic  can 


THE   STORY    OF    THE    RAILWAYS    149 

be  maintained  throughout  the  severest  winter  with 
perfect  safety. 

The  line  brings  Chili  at  least  a  fortnight  nearer 
London,  a  great  consideration  in  these  days  of  com- 
mercial enterprise.  British  manufacturers  are  taking 
advantage  of  the  fact,  and  that  there  is  a  growing 
demand  in  Chili  for  British  goods  is  shown  by  the 
increasing  number  of  representatives  who  favour 
this  route.  Previous  to  the  opening  of  the  railway 
passengers  and  goods  had  to  travel  by  boat  through 
the  treacherous  Straits  of  Magellan,  a  long  and 
tedious  journey.  Now  a  well-appointed  and  com- 
fortable train  is  entered  at  Buenos  Aires,  and  thirty- 
eight  hours  later  the  traveller  finds  himself  in  Val- 
paraiso or  Santiago. 

But  the  fortune  of  the  Buenos  Aires  and  Pacific 
Railway  really  lies  in  the  V-shaped  territory  from 
Mendoza  to  Bahia  Blanca  and  Buenos  Aires.  There 
is  a  great  country  still  to  be  awakened  in  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Andes.  There  are  millions  of  acres  on 
the  pampas  awaiting  the  plough  and  the  coming  of 
the  cattle  breeder.  The  Pacific  Company  cannot 
but  go  on  and  prosper.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret, 
however,  that  it  has  lost  as  general  manager  Mr. 
Guy  Calthrop.  In  the  handling  of  a  complex  rail- 
way system  he  has  no  superior.  A  strong  man, 
physically  and  mentally,  he  has  had  rough  hours 
during  labour  trouble.  But  he  kept  a  steady  nerve. 
He  went  out  to  Argentina  with  high  reputation  of 
his  work  on  the  Caledonian  line ;  he  has  shown 
the  capacity  of   a   general    in   the   development    of 


150         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

traffic  during  the  few  years  he  has  been  in  Argen- 
tina. But  England  called  him  to  take  the  most 
responsible .  post  in  the  railway  world,  the  general 
managership  of  the  London  and  North  Western 
Company. 

Now  I  come  to  the  Great  Southern  Company,  one 
of  the  oldest  and  one  of  the  most  famous  lines  on  the 
South  American  continent.  From  "  B.A."  it  extends 
southwards  for  500  miles  to  Bahia  Blanca.  From 
there  it  shoots  westwards  for  348  miles  to  Neuquen, 
and  an  extension  to  the  Chilian  frontier  is  on  its 
way.  On  behalf  of  the  Government  the  company 
is  carrying  forward  extensive  irrigation  works  in 
the  Neuquen  territory  which,  when  completed,  will 
convert  the  valleys  of  the  upper  Rio  Negro  and 
Rio  Neuquen,  hitherto  one  of  the  least  productive, 
into  one  of  the  most  fertile  regions  of  the  country. 
The  growth  of  the  company,  since  it  started  in 
1865  with  a  length  of  71  miles,  is  worth  noting. 
After  1865  the  mileage  grew  progressively  as  follows  : 
1873,  145  miles;  1883,  472  miles;  1893,  1,406 
miles;  1903,  2,404  miles;  1913,  3,641  miles.  The 
lines  actually  in  course  of  construction,  or  about 
to  be  commenced,  represent  some  670  miles.  Thus 
it  can  be  safely  calculated  that  the  mileage  of  the 
Great  Southern  Railway  will,  before  long,  exceed 
4,300  miles.  You  get  an  appreciation  of  the  zone 
served  by  the  Southern  by  the  comparative  figures 
of  the  increase  in  its  passenger  traffic  during  the 
last  five  years  :  1909,  16,865,200  ;  1910,  18,906,505  ; 
1911,  22,231,112  ;  1912,  24,069,974  ;  1913,  27,454,719. 


THE    STORY    OF   THE    RAILWAYS    151 

Of  these  last  figures,  for  1913,  it  is  significant  that  the 
suburban  traffic  is  represented  by  19,841,156,  which 
shows  the  population  that  lives  within  reach  of 
Buenos  Aires. 

Passenger  traffic  is,  in  fact,  a  main  feature  of  the 
Buenos  Aires  Great  Southern  Railway.  On  the 
Monday  following  the  Easter  holidays  in  1913  trains 
with  no  fewer  than  102  sleeping  coaches  arrived  at 
the  company's  termini  in  Buenos  Aires.  Of  these, 
fifty  were  from  the  fashionable  bathing  resort  at 
Mar  del  Plata.  The  special  feature  of  this  Mar  del 
Plata  service  is,  that  during  the  season  as  many  as 
three  heavy  trains,  composed  of  sleeping  cars,  are 
run  nightly,  in  addition  to  afternoon  expresses, 
formed  of  luxurious  parlour  cars,  which  run  three 
days  a  week.  In  1913  35,964  return  tickets  were 
sold  to  this  watering  place  250  miles  from  Buenos 
Aires.  In  the  same  year  parcels  and  excess  baggage 
represented  291,608  tons,  though  it  should  be  stated 
more  than  half  this  amount  was  for  milk,  butter, 
and  cream.  The  number  of  tons  of  goods  carried 
in  1909  was  4,852,379  ;  in  1913  the  tonnage  was 
7,977,663.  Live  stock  carried  in  1909  were  5,576,983, 
whilst  in  1913  the  number  was  6,562,951.  Fully 
50  per  cent,  of  the  live  stock  received  at  the  slaughter- 
houses for  consumption  in  Buenos  Aires,  and  by 
the  freezing  establishments  for  export  to  England 
in  the  form  of  frozen  or  chilled  meat,  is  dispatched 
from  southern  stations.  The  bull  that  obtained 
the  championship  in  1913  at  Palermo,  and  fetched 
the  world-record  price  of  £7,000,  was  born  on  Senor 


152         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Pereyra  Iraola's  estate  at  Pereyra  station  on  the 
Great  Southern  Railway. 

Practically  the  whole  of  the  zone  served  by  the 
Great  Southern  Railway  in  the  Province  of  Buenos 
Aires  is  adaptable  to  the  growing  of  cereals  gener- 
ally, with  the  exception  of  maize,  which  is  limited 
to  the  districts  nearest  Buenos  Aires.  The  author- 
ised capital  of  the  Southern  is  £53,525,530,  and 
that  issued  amounts  to  £48,981,530.  The  net  receipts 
for  1913  (June  30th)  amounted  to  £2,870,349,  and 
the  dividend  for  the  year  was  7  per  cent.,  which 
has  been  maintained  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  being, 
indeed,  as  high  as  the  law  will  permit.  The  com- 
pany's rolling  stock,  comprising  some  15,000  vehicles, 
was  recently  valued  at  £7,437,654.  The  general 
manager  of  the  company  is  Mr.  Percy  Clarke,  the 
doyen  amongst  English  railway  officials  in  Argen- 
tina, and  a  man  of  charming  personality. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  go  through  a  cata- 
logue of  all  that  is  being  done  by  the  various  rail- 
roads in  the  Republic.  But  I  must  refer  to  the 
work  being  done  by  what  is  known  as  the  "  Far- 
quhar  group,"  an  amalgamation  of  railways  under 
the  spirited  enterprise  of  Mr.  Percival  Farquhar,  a 
go-ahead  North  American  who  is  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  creation  of  the  Argentine  Railway  Com- 
pany, which  is  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  Maine,  U.S.A.  This  company  was  formed  a 
couple  of  years  ago  (July  12th,  1912)  to  group  together 
various  railways  in  order  to  obtain  benefits  of  unified 
management,  and  provide  increased  railroad  facilities 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    RAILWAYS    i53 

in  the  northern  districts  of  the  Republic.  Two  of 
the  principal  railways  which  this  company  now  con- 
trol are  the  Central  Cordoba  and  the  Entre  Rios 
lines.  Also  it  has  a  controlling  interest  in  a  number 
of  smaller  companies.  The  biggest  amalgamation 
effected  by  this  company  has  been  the  purchase  by 
the  Cordoba  Central  Railway  of  the  undertakings  of 
the  Cordoba  and  Rosario  and  Cordoba  Central 
Buenos  Aires  Extension  Lines  ;  and  the  proposal  at 
the  time  of  writing  is  to  create  £23,000,000  worth  of 
new  stock,  whilst  £18,000,000  worth  is  to  be  issued 
to  the  holders  of  existing  stock  in  the  three  com- 
panies. A  good  deal  of  reorganisation  is  in  progress. 
Although  competition  between  the  big  lines  is 
as  severe  as  anywhere  in  the  world,  except  within  the 
United  States,  this  movement  in  Argentina  for 
amalgamation  and  agreement  in  regard  to  spheres 
of  interest  shows  a  disposition  to  put  an  end  to 
fierce  rivalry.  Indeed,  it  is  more  than  likely  that 
within  the  next  few  years  there  will  be  more  amal- 
gamation and  working  agreements  between  the  big 
companies. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ROSARIO 

It  was  not  my  fortune  to  see  Rosario,  one  of  the 
leading  commercial  cities  in  the  Republic,  under  the 
most  favourable  circumstances.  During  the  few 
days  I  was  there  the  weather  was  all  it  ought  not 
to  have  been — dull  and  rainy  and  cold — and  the 
streets,  except  in  a  few  central  thoroughfares,  morasses 
of  mire. 

It  is  a  purely  commercial  town.  It  puts  forward 
no  claim  to  be  artistic  or  cultured,  and  it  has  no 
pretensions  to  be  a  leader  of  fashion.  All  the  men 
in  Rosario  are  engaged  in  money-making.  There  are 
big  offices,  and  the  business  men  are  at  their  desks 
early  in  the  morning  and  remain  late  in  the  after- 
noon. Great  railway  lines  converge  upon  Rosario, 
and  along  the  front  of  the  River  Parana  there  are 
miles  of  goods  sheds  and  wharves,  with  ships  lying 
alongside  into  which  the  elevators  pour  their  streams 
of  wheat.  There  is  the  constant  shunting  of  trains, 
the  shrieking  of  cranes,  and  the  swinging  of  derricks. 

The  workers  are  the  best  type  of  Latins,  Italians 
from  North  Italy,  or  North  Catalonian  Spaniards  or 
Basques.  Other  Latins  do  not  get  much  of  a  chance 
in  Rosario.  There  are  a  number  of  Englishmen, 
but  they  are  swamped   in  the  total.     I   made  in- 

154 


ROSARIO  155 

quiries  about  the  relative  merits  of  English  and  Italian 
working  men,  and  was  told  that  the  Englishmen  are 
superior,  two  of  them  doing  the  work  which  it  gener- 
ally takes  three  Italians  to  accomplish.  But  it  did 
not  strike  me,  considering  the  high  cost  of  living, 
that  the  workers  in  Rosario  are  highly  paid  from  an 
English  point  of  view.  Commerce  is  frequently 
held  up  by  strikes.  Indeed,  there  is  probably  no 
place  where  strikes  are  so  recurrent  as  in  Rosario. 

This  is  a  town  which  came  into  existence  a  cen- 
tury ago  as  a  sort  of  military  outpost  to  fight  the 
Indians.  Half  a  century  back  it  was  little  more  than 
a  village,  and  in  1870  it  had  a  population  of  21,000. 
To-day  the  inhabitants  number  200,000.  It  is  a 
great  port  for  sending  abroad  wheat,  maize,  and 
linseed ;  indeed,  its  exports  annually  are  about 
5,000,000  tons.  As  the  country  north  of  Rosario 
is  rapidly  being  colonised,  and  as  the  town  is 
the  up-river  port  capable  of  receiving  ocean-going 
steamers,  its  continued  growth  is  assured.  Though, 
of  course,  I  do  not  forget  the  gradual  silting  of 
the  River  Plate  into  which  the  Parana  flows,  and  the 
restraint  this  is  sure  to  put  upon  shipping  in  the 
future,  Rosario  is  certain  to  go  ahead.  The  day  is 
not  far  distant  when  there  will  be  extended  rail- 
way communication  between  Argentina,  Brazil,  and 
Bolivia ;  and,  as  all  the  lines  will  pass  through 
Rosario,  it  will  get  the  benefit.  It  is  reported  that 
Brazil  has  coal  mines  yet  to  be  exploited,  and  if 
this  takes  place  Argentina,  which  is  much  in  need 
of  coal,  will  be  one  of  the  principal  markets. 


\ 


156         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

I  spent  an  interesting  morning  in  the  workshops 
of  the  Central  Argentine  Railway,  which  are  situated 
here.  They  are  extensive  works,  though  most  of 
the  engines  on  the  line  are  brought  from  England. 
The  majority  of  the  workmen,  naturally  enough, 
are  Italians,  though  the  men  at  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments are  Englishmen.  The  goods  yard  of  the 
Central  Argentine  Company  is  as  large  as  that  at 
Crewe,  and  is  ever  busy  with  the  great  freight  cars 
coming  in  from  the  west  and  north.  When  I  was 
there  the  railway  station  was  being  transferred  to 
another  part  of  the  city  so  that  passenger  and  goods 
traffic  could  be  more  expeditiously  handled. 

Though  Rosario  prides  itself  that  it  keeps  its  nose 
to  the  grindstone  in  the  matter  of  money-making, 
it  is  not  quite  neglectful  of  other  sides  of  life.  There 
is  a  fine  system  of  electric  tramways.  There  are 
huge  blocks  of  municipal  buildings,  and  imposing 
banks  and  theatres ;  but  the  law  courts,  whilst 
having  a  fine  exterior,  suggested  a  certain  shabbi- 
ness  to  me  because  of  the  weeds  that  were  growing 
in  the  courtyards.  There  is  the  usual  race-course, 
and  close  by  there  is  the  Parque  Independecia.  And, 
of  course,  there  is  a  Plaza  San  Martin,  whilst  in  other 
parts  of  the  town  is  the  Plaza  San  Lopez,  and  the 
Plaza  Jewell,  presented  by  an  Englishman  who  made 
his  fortune  in  the  city.  Some  distance  outside 
Rosario  is  the  English  suburb  of  Fisherton,  and  I 
noticed  that  the  Englishmen  had  fallen  into  the 
Argentine  practice  of  calling  their  houses  after  their 
wives — the  Villa  Elsie,  the  Villa  Florence,  the  Villa 


ROSARIO  157 

Ethel,  and  so  on.  As  might  be  expected,  there  is 
a  golf  course.  In  the  city  itself  there  is  a  Strangers' 
Club,  of  which  most  of  the  members  are  Englishmen. 

An  evidence  of  the  prosperity  of  Rosario  is  the 
way  in  which  land  has  increased  in  value.  Plots 
which  in  1885  could  have  been  bought  for  2s.  6d. 
a  yard  now  fetch  £200  a  yard.  On  the  outskirts 
of  the  town,  where  a  few  years  back  a  bit  of  land 
on  which  to  build  a  residence — say  twenty  yards  by 
sixty  yards — could  have  been  obtained  for  £5,  it 
cannot  be  obtained  to-day  for  less  than  £150.  I 
saw  one  stretch  on  the  river  front  which  was  bought 
twenty  years  ago  for  £2,000  and  sold  last  year  for 
£40,000.  Twenty  miles  from  Rosario  camp  land 
which  a  dozen  years  ago  could  have  been  obtained 
for  £10,000  the  square  league  is  not  allowed  to  change 
hands  to-day  for  less  than  £100,000  the  square  league. 

With  nightfall  the  Rosario  people  give  themselves 
up  to  pleasure.  Attached  to  the  big  hotel  there  is  a 
huge  saloon,  and  whilst  men  play  dominoes  and 
cards,  music  is  provided  by  a  band  composed  of 
Austrian  girls.  There  is  a  great  cafi  chantant,  and 
every  night  hundreds  of  people,  men  and  their  wives, 
sit  at  the  little  tables  having  meals,  or  partaking  of 
beverages,  whilst  a  band  plays  and  comic  singers 
perform,  or  a  kinematograph  entertainment  is  pro- 
vided. I  saw  nothing  at  all  in  Rosario  to  suggest 
it  was  a  place  of  culture.  But  it  is  a  town  throbbing 
with  commercial  activity,  and  when  business  is  over 
the  people  seek  nothing  more  than  the  lightest  of 
entertainment. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CORDOBA   AND    ITS   ATTRACTIONS 

An  old-time  languorous  atmosphere  seems  to  hang 
round  Cordoba.  It  is  a  city  with  eighty  churches, 
and  as  it  has  a  population  of  80,000,  I  pride  myself 
on  my  arithmetic  that  works  it  out  to  one  church  for 
every  thousand  inhabitants.  It  is  named  after 
Cordova,  in  Spain,  was  founded  in  1504,  and  is 
the  Oxford  of  the  Argentine.  Its  university  dates 
from  1666,  and  has  a  high  reputation  for  learning 
in  law  and  medicine. 

Those  old  Spaniards  who  came  pioneering  down 
this  way  from  Peru  in  their  early  days  of  conquest 
had  a  neat  eye  for  the  picturesque.  Speaking  gener- 
ally, I  would  not  place  Argentina  high  as  a  land  of 
beauty.  But  in  the  middle  land  there  is  a  fine  rib 
of  mountains,  the  Sierra  de  Cordoba;  and  on  a  rise, 
so  that  it  may  be  seen  from  afar,  when  the  heat 
dances  hazily  there  is  something  immaterial  about 
Cordoba  as  though  it  were  the  city  of  a  waking 
dream.  See  it,  however,  in  the  early  morning,  when 
the  air  is  fresh  and  the  gleam  of  the  sun  catches 
it  sideways  and  the  buildings  are  silhouetted 
against  shadows,  and  you  witness  a  picture  which 
would  enthral  an  artist. 

By  northern  European  standard  it  is  not  an 
158 


CORDOBA   AND    ITS   ATTRACTIONS    159 

ancient  city.  But  as  living  beneath  the  sun  brings 
early  old  age  to  men  and  women,  so  cities  which 
have  had  a  few  centuries  of  constant  sun  glare  get 
a  drowsy  medisevalism  which  sister  cities  in  more 
temperate  climes  must  have  long  ages  to  acquire. 
The  aroma  of  the  Church  and  of  scholasticism  per- 
meates Cordoba.  In  many  respects  it  is  quite 
modern,  with  its  big  new  hotel,  where  the  band 
plays  in  the  restaurant  whilst  you  are  dining,  and 
its  streets  lit  with  electricity  and  electric  tramcars 
jangling  their  way  through  the  squares  and  plenty 
of  taxi-cabs  on  the  ranks. 

But  the  tendency  is  to  forget  these,  and  in  re- 
collection of  the  place  you  think  chiefly  of  the  quiet 
in  the  quadrangle  of  the  university,  the  calm  of  the 
great  library,  the  weatherworn  walls  of  the  old 
churches  and  the  dim  lights  of  their  interiors  doing 
much  to  soften  the  tawdriness  of  the  decorations. 
There  is  a  good  deal  in  the  assertion  occasionally 
made  that  the  towns  of  recently  developed  countries 
lack  individuality,  distinction  ;  that,  with  all  their 
progress,  they  are  more  or  less  duplicates  of  each 
other.  It  is  easy  enough  in  Argentina  to  find  evi- 
dence of  this  modern  spirit  in  town  planning.  Yet 
I  know  of  none  of  the  newer  countries  where  the  towns 
have  such  a  separate  character  as  in  Argentina. 

Of  course,  there  are  raw  townships  of  yesterday 
which  have  nothing  to  show  but  two  wretched  rows 
of  badly  built  houses  on  each  side  of  the  railway 
track,  just  as  you  will  find  in  the  western  parts  of 
the  United  States  and  Canada.     As  Argentine  towns 


i6o         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

grow  they  do  not  grow  uniformly,  as  though  they 
were  designed  by  the  same  architect  or  were  imitating 
one  another.  They  show  individuahty.  If  you  Hke, 
it  may  be  just  a  desire  to  show  off.  Many  munici- 
paUties  are  loaded  with  debt.  But  they  will  have 
their  cities  beautiful.  When  they  have  made  a 
broad  grass-plotted,  tree-girt  avenue  right  through 
the  town  to  the  railway  station,  and  the  station 
buildings  are  low  and  ugly  and  out  of  keeping  with 
the  rest  of  the  town,  and  the  railway  authorities 
at  Buenos  Aires  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  deputations 
which  may  wait  upon  them,  you  can  safely  bet  that 
one  of  these  nights  the  railway  buildings  will  be 
consumed  by  fire,  so  that  the  company  is  compelled 
to  erect  a  new  station. 

Because  it  is  the  oldest  city  in  Argentina  and 
has  inhabitants  with  pedigrees,  and  because  of  the 
society  attracted  to  it,  Cordoba  regards  itself  as 
the  aristocratic  centre  of  the  Republic.  In  the 
neighbouring  hills  are  sanatoria,  like  Jesu  Maria, 
much  favoured  by  the  people  of  the  plains  who 
need  a  change. 

Cordoba,  like  other  places,  is  quite  certain  it  has 
the  best-dressed  ladies.  In  a  sedate  sort  of  way 
there  is  a  good  deal  of  gaiety.  On  hot  summer  even- 
ings a  band  plays  in  the  square,  where  there  is  a  statue 
of  San  Martin.  There  may  be  a  town  in  Argentina 
which  has  not  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  Liberator 
from  Spain.  If  so,  I  must  have  missed  it.  The 
statues  are  all  facsimiles  of  the  original,  and  there 
must  be  dozens  of  them.     It  is  the  one  point  on  which 


GORDOBA   AND    ITS   ATTRACTIONS    i6i 

all  the  towns  agree  ;  they  must  have  a  statue  of  San 
Martin  on  a  prancing  steed,  and  eternally  pointing 
in  the  direction  of  the  Andes.  Once  I  unfortunately 
made  an  Argentine  angry,  for,  being  anxious  to 
show  me  the  beauties  of  his  town,  he  sought  my 
wishes  as  to  what  I  desired  to  see,  and  I  replied, 
"  Anything  you  like,  so  long  as  you  do  not  take  me 
to  see  the  statue  of  San  Martin — I've  seen  him  so 
often  during  the  last  month."  The  feathers  were 
up  at  once.  I  smoothed  them  down  by  assuring 
him  that  we  have  very  few  statues  of  Wellington 
in  England. 

The  Cordobians  are  fond  of  music  and  racing  and 
gambling,  and  sitting  in  the  cafes  throwing  the  dice- 
box.  There  is  a  delightful  theatre,  the  Rivera 
Indarte,  built  by  the  provincial  Government.  Opera 
companies  which  go  to  Buenos  Aires  are  invited  to 
come  to  Cordoba,  and  the  authorities  give  a  guar- 
antee against  loss.  The  proper  thing  is  to  buy  a 
box,  holding  six  persons,  for  the  little  season  of 
ten  performances.  The  cost  of  such  a  box  is  £150. 
The  charge  is  a  dollar  for  the  enirada  (entrance), 
which  provides  nothing  except  permission  to  enter 
the  building.  This  enirada  charge  is  like  the  charge 
for  "  attendance  "  in  old-fashioned  hotels  in  England, 
which  is  an  excuse  for  sticking  another  eighteenpence 
a  day  on  your  bill  so  that  you  may  be  deceived 
into  thinking  you  are  paying  six  shillings  for  your 
room  when  you  are  really  paying  seven  and  sixpence. 
So  at  the  opera  in  Cordoba,  usually  Italian,  the  lowest 
ticket  is  two  dollars  to  be  permitted  to  stand  up. 


i62         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

but  you  have  already  parted  with  one  dollar  to  go 
in.  Cordoba  province,  like  the  other  provinces, 
thinks  no  small  beer  of  itself.  It  rather  resents 
receiving  orders  from  the  Federal  Government  sit- 
ting in  Buenos  Aires.  Perhaps  that  is  the  reason 
the  Argentine  National  Anthem  is  so  seldom  heard. 

Students  are  attracted  to  Cordoba  University 
from  all  over  the  country.  Most  of  the  professors 
have  had  experience  of  European  universities,  gener- 
ally French.  The  library  is  extensive  and  varied. 
I  handled  some  fine  old  Bibles,  bound  in  sheepskin, 
relics  of  the  early  Spaniards.  Also  there  is  a  remark- 
able collection  of  old  maps,  showing  that  the  priests 
as  they  travelled  this  way  were  first-class  geographers. 
Whatever  literary  sentiment  there  is  in  Argentina 
finds  expression  in  Cordoba.  Indeed,  it  is  the  natural 
meeting-place  for  men  inclined  to  culture  for  its 
own  sake.  But  it  is  by  no  means  a  sleepy  hollow. 
It  has  several  really  good  newspapers.  There  is  a 
great  export  of  lime.  Being  the  centre  of  a  big 
wheat  area,  much  milling  is  done  by  modern  electric 
appliance.  Light  and  power  are  provided  by  an 
enterprising  English  company.  There  is  a  shoe 
factory,  which  turns  out  2,500  pairs  of  footwear 
a  day. 

Yet,  as  I  have  said,  though  there  is  plenty  to 
prove  that  Cordoba  is  awake,  the  impression  left 
on  the  memory  is  that  it  is  an  old-fashioned  Spanish 
university  town  that  has  strayed  to  the  central  part 
of  South  America.  This  may  be  because  I  spent 
most   of  my  time   in  the   university   buildings,   or 


CORDOBA   AND    ITS   ATTRACTIONS    163 

roaming  through  the  churches.  In  the  cathedral  a 
shrivelled  but  kindly  old  priest  showed  me  a  gallery 
of  bishops  of  Cordoba;  but  I  suspect  they  are  much 
like  the  Scottish  kings  which  adorn  the  walls  of 
Holyrood  Palace,  many  painted  by  one  hand,  and 
from  imagination  of  what  the  bishops  looked  like 
rather  than  from  any  knowledge  of  their  actual 
appearance. 

I  went  to  the  Jesuit  church,  where  a  tonsured, 
jolly  monk  showed  me  the  relics.  People  who  had 
had  rheumatism,  and  who  had  been  cured  by  prayer, 
gave  acknowledgment  by  sending  golden  arms  or 
silver  legs.  There  was  a  little  golden  motor  car, 
and  this  came  from  a  lady  who  in  a  terrible  smash 
prayed  her  life  might  be  saved  ;  and  it  was  saved, 
and  here  was  her  gift.  Here  was  the  statue  of  the 
Virgin,  which  performs  miracles.  Those  who  are 
inclined  to  doubt  are  shown  a  stack  of  crutches  of 
those  who  hobbled  into  the  church  to  seek  the  aid 
of  the  Virgin  and  walked  out  quite  cured.  The 
little  figure  of  the  Virgin  is  as  fresh  as  though  it 
had  been  carved  and  painted  only  last  year.  Yet 
the  story  goes  it  has  never  been  touched  for  nigh 
four  hundred  years.  In  those  far-off  days  it  was 
sent  from  Spain.  But  the  ship  was  wrecked  in  mid- 
Atlantic.  Those  who  had  expected  the  statue  were 
in  distress,  and  prayers  were  offered  on  the  coast 
that  the  good  Mother  would  send  another  statue. 
And  whilst  they  prayed  the  case  in  which  was  the  statue 
was  floated  on  the  shore,  and  the  statue  was  quite 
unharmed.     At  once  miracles  were  performed,  and 


i64         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

miracles  have  been  performed  over  since.  I  saw 
the  crutches  and  I  saw  the  golden  motor-car. 

From  the  rafters  hung  many  flags  of  foreign 
countries  captured  by  Argentina  in  war.  There  is 
a  Union  Jack,  with  colours  dimmed  with  years, 
which  was  seized  from  the  British  nearly  a  hundred 
years  ago,  when  a  British  force  landed  and  it  was  a 
toss-up  whether  Argentina  would  not  become  a 
British  Colony.  Many  British  visitors  cast  a  re- 
gretful eye  upon  that  drooping  flag  in  the  Jesuit 
church  at  Cordoba.  They  are  not  told — but  it  is 
a  fact  all  the  same — it  is  not  the  real  flag.  I  was 
shown  the  real  flag  folded  in  a  glass  case  in  a  room 
behind  the  altar.  Some  years  ago  a  number  of  young 
Englishmen  travelling  in  the  country  recovered  the 
real  flag,  which  then  hung  in  the  chancel.  There 
was  such  a  how-d'ye-do  that  it  had  to  be  returned. 
To  avoid  a  similar  mishap  it  was  put  under  lock 
and  key  in  a  glass  case,  and  kept  in  a  chamber  not 
accessible  to  the  public.  But  the  public  would  still 
want  to  see  the  British  flag.  So  not  to  disappoint 
them  an  exact  copy  was  made,  and  it  is  the  imita- 
tion flag  upon  which  most  visiting  Englishmen  cast 
a  patriotic  but  regretful  eye. 

There  is  an  agricultural  college,  a  wonderful  drive 
up  a  hill  to  a  park  which  provides  long  distance 
views,  an  English  school  and  a  German  school. 
I  could  easily  give  a  dozen  places  where  these 
developments  can  be  found,  and  better.  The  point 
is  that  you  find  these  things  at  all  in  the  very  heart 
of  South  America.     Being  the  heart  of  the  southern 


CORDOBA   AND    ITS   ATTRACTIONS    165 

continent,  Cordoba  has  been  selected  by  the  Govern- 
ment as  its  chief  observatory.  It  is  the  Argentine 
Greenwich.  The  Republic  keeps  the  same  time  from 
east  to  west,  and  it  keeps  Cordoba  time.  The 
observatory  is  under  the  control  of  a  staff  from  the 
United  States. 

The  Cordobians  are  great  lovers  of  pleasure. 
Sometimes  on  the  grim  hoardings  of  London  you 
see  how  a  railway  company  will  take  you,  first  class, 
to  a  popular  seaside  resort,  house  and  feed  you  in 
a  well-known  hotel,  and  bring  you  back  at  a  fixed 
inclusive  sum  for  the  week-end.  The  Central  Argen- 
tine Railway  does  the  same  thing  in  regard  to  Alta 
Gracia,  a  pleasant  village  in  the  hills,  and  where 
there  is  the  best  mountain  hotel  in  the  world.  Alta 
Gracia  is  about  an  hour's  run  from  Cordoba,  and 
on  Sundays  there  is  a  rush  of  holiday-makers,  remi- 
niscent of  the  Pullman  express  out  of  London  down 
to  Brighton  on  a  Sunday  morning.  The  "  fixed 
charge"  is  popular.  Everybody  knows  exactly  how 
much  the  outing  is  going  to  cost.  At  ten  o'clock  a 
train  thronged  with  holiday-makers  sets  out  for 
Alta  Gracia.  By  eleven  o'clock  the  place  is  reached. 
At  noon  there  is  dejeuner.  The  afternoon  can  be 
spent  lounging  about,  listening  to  the  band,  playing 
golf,  playing  tennis,  gambling  in  the  casino,  taking 
walks  in  the  wooded  hills.  At  seven  o'clock  is 
dinner.  The  train  returns  at  nine  o'clock,  and  by 
ten  Cordoba  and  home  is  reached. 

One  of  the  pleasantest  week-ends  in  my  life  I 
spent  at  Alta  Gracia.     There  is  a  little  group  of 


i66         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Englishmen,  associated  with  the  Central  Argentine 
Railway,  living  at  Cordoba,  and,  as  officials  have 
special  cars,  we  had  a  couple  of  cars  attached  to  the 
train  on  Saturday  night.  At  Alta  Gracia  these  were 
detached  and  side  tracked.  Then  we  "  roughed  it " 
for  twenty-four  hours.  After  the  cocktails,  and 
whilst  dinner  was  being  prepared,  we  sat  out  on  the 
plain.  On  one  side  rose  the  village,  revealed  by 
points  of  light  in  the  blackness,  and  on  the  summit 
of  the  hill  was  a  glow  of  light  just  like  a  great  and 
well-illumined  liner  appears  as  she  ploughs  the  sea. 
That  was  the  mountain  hotel.  On  the  other  side 
was  the  prairie,  just  a  streak  of  dark  below  the 
deep  blue  of  the  sky.  The  stars  seemed  bigger  and 
nearer  and  more  numerous  than  they  do  in  northern 
climes.  There  was  the  usual  searching  for  the 
Southern  Cross,  and  when  found  we  all  agreed  it 
was  the  most  overrated  constellation  in  the  heavens. 
A  caressing  warmth  was  in  the  air.  It  was  good 
to  sit  there,  smoking  our  pipes  and  "  listening  to 
the  silence." 

Away  on  the  plains  of  central  South  America — 
that  sounds  like  "  roughing  it."  But  you  have 
got  to  go  much  farther  afield  to  rough  it.  The 
car  which  my  friend  and  I  had  would  have  attracted 
much  notice  in  England.  There  was  a  pleasant 
sitting-room,  with  big  easy  chairs  and  a  real  English 
open  fireplace.  There  were  three  bedrooms,  not 
the  "  cribb'd,  cabin'd,  confin'd "  cabins  we  have 
in  our  "  sleepers  "  at  home,  and  there  was  the  luxury 
of  a  bathroom.     There  was  a  kitchen,  a  chef,  and 


THE    NINTH    GREEN    AT    ALTA    GRACIA. 


IN    THE    COURTYARD    OF    THE    MONASTERY    AT    ALTA    GRACIA. 


CORDOBA   AND    ITS   ATTRACTIONS    167 

a  sprightly  waiter.  The  whole  car  was  lit  by  elec- 
tricity. So  we  sat  down  to  dinner — half  a  dozen 
courses  as  excellent  as  can  be  served  at  a  London 
restaurant  which  looks  after  its  reputation.  We 
filled  the  coach  with  our  tobacco  smoke ;  we  told 
our  best  stories ;  we  exchanged  yarns  about  things 
which  had  befallen  us  in  distant  parts  of  the  world 
— in  Siberia  and  Australia,  Peru  and  Havana,  the 
Soudan  and  California — for  here  the  corners  of  the 
earth  were  met  in  a  side-tracked  private  car  in  the 
lee  of  a  pretty  holiday  village  in  the  middle  of 
Argentina.  The  Spaniards  have  done  much  to  this 
land ;  but  bands  of  young  Englishmen  have  played 
and  are  playing  their  part. 

In  the  delicious  freshness  of  the  dawn  we  saun- 
tered about  in  our  pyjamas,  drank  tea  and  smoked 
cigarettes.  The  day  came  with  a  rush  of  glory. 
It  was  Sunday  morning,  and  the  bell  in  the  monastic 
church  on  the  hill  was  clanging  for  the  faithful  to 
go  and  pray.  The  mystery  which  hung  over  Alta 
Gracia  had  gone,  and  in  the  truthful  light  of  the 
morning  it  was  just  a  straggling  Spanish  village, 
with  many  trees  about,  and  the  red  hills  in  the 
distance  making  a  jagged  background.  It  was  a 
torrid  Sunday  morning,  and  when  we  had  had  our 
tubs,  and  had  shaven  and  put  on  our  flannels,  we 
set  out  to  "  make  a  day  of  it." 

The  bell  of  the  old  church  was  clang-clanging. 
Peasants  in  their  Sunday  clothes — ^the  women  squat 
and  short- skirted  and  with  highly  coloured  kerchiefs 
over  their  heads,  the  men  in  baggy  velvet  trousers 


i68         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

and  slouch  hats,  their  faces  polished  with  soap  and 
their  hair  reeking  with  scented  oil — were  slowly 
climbing  to  worship.  The  walls  of  the  church,  and 
the  buildings  where  the  monks  formerly  lived,  sug- 
gested a  fortress  prepared  to  resist  attack  rather 
than  a  haven  of  peace.  There  were  long  slits  in  the 
stonework  through  which  the  nose  of  a  musket 
could  be  stuck.  For  in  the  old  days  the  monks 
had  to  fight  as  well  as  pray.  Alta  Gracia  was  very 
lonely  centuries  ago,  and  always  liable  to  attack. 
But  now  all  that  is  far  in  the  background.  The  church 
was  crowded.  The  priest  at  the  candled  altar  was 
chanting.  The  air  was  pungent  with  incense.  There 
was  not  room  for  all  the  worshippers  to  sit  so 
many  stood,  and  when  they  knelt  they  spread  their 
handkerchiefs  on  the  floor.  There  was  nothing 
which  could  be  described  as  distinctively  Argentine. 
Better- to- do  folk  were  dressed  just  like  better- 
to-do  folk  are  dressed  in  Europe.  It  was  just 
the  usual  Sunday  morning  scene  you  can  witness 
in  Spain  and  Italy — countries  six  thousand  miles 
away. 

One  blinked  on  coming  from  the  shadows  of  the 
church  into  the  sunshine.  The  holiday-makers  from 
Cordoba  had  arrived,  and  were  scattering  to  find 
suitable  haunts  for  picnicking.  We  tramped  up  the 
heavy,  dusty  road,  panting  and  perspiring,  but 
encouraged  by  the  sight  of  the  spreading,  low-roofed 
hotel.  Ah  !  at  last  we  were  on  the  broad  balcony, 
twice  as  wide  as  the  promenade  deck  of  our  greatest 
liner.    A  touch  of  the  bell,  and  we  were  having  our 


CORDOBA   AND   ITS  ATTRACTIONS    169 

favourite  beverages,  much  iced.  Through  the  shim- 
mering heat  the  eye  could  wander  over  the  endless 
brown  plains.  Solemn  Argentines,  inclined  to  portli- 
ness, sat  in  big  basket-chairs,  surrounded  by  their 
sedate  families,  doing  nothing  at  all.  There  were 
invalids  who  had  come  here  for  the  high,  dry  air. 
There  were  noisy  English  youths,  in  gorgeous  blazers, 
arranging  a  tennis  match.  A  party  of  heavy-shoed 
golfers  were  setting  out. 

Alta  Gracia  is  renowned  throughout  Argentina 
as  a  health  resort.  In  the  hot  months — and  it  can 
be  very  hot  around  January — many  families  come 
here,  for  there  is  always  a  refreshing  breeze.  There 
are  hundreds  of  rooms  in  the  hotel.  Bathrooms  are 
innumerable.  There  are  suites  and  single  chambers. 
The  furniture  is  tasteful  but  not  luxurious.  The 
dining-room  is  in  white.  There  is  a  ball-room. 
There  is  a  resident  orchestra.  I  know  most  of  the 
big  hotels  in  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  but  no 
one  is  comparable  in  conveniences  to  this. 

Across  the  gardens,  a  hundred  yards  away,  is 
the  casino,  quite  apart  from  the  hotel,  but  provided 
for  those  who  want  to  gamble — and  where  is  the 
Argentine  who  does  not  like  to  gamble  ?  There  are 
large  public  rooms  ;  there  are  small  rooms,  decor- 
ated in  a  variety  of  styles,  for  private  gaming  parties  ; 
there  is  a  refreshment  and  reading-room,  German  in 
appearance  ;  there  is  a  beautiful  little  theatre.  No, 
I  am  receiving  no  fee  to  advertise  Alta  Gracia.  With 
the  exception  of  my  companion,  I  am  quite  sure  there 
was  not  a  soul  in  the  place  who  knew  what  my  name 


170         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

was,  or  bothered  their  heads  what  was  the  business 
of  a  tourist-looking  fellow  like  myself. 

We  lunched,  we  had  our  coffee,  and  then  we 
hired  one  of  the  hotel  motor-cars  and  went  for  a  forty 
or  fifty  mile  spin.  Roads — ^there  were  no  roads. 
There  were  passable  tracks  and  a  considerable  amount 
of  bouncing  which  tested  the  springs  of  the  car. 
Like  all  Latin  chauffeurs  the  driver  had  a  mania 
for  speed.  The  way  serpentined  amongst  the  rocks 
and  through  scraggy  woods,  so  we  had  often  to  make 
a  sudden  duck  to  avoid  getting  whipped  in  the  face 
by  a  branch.  We  banged  and  swerved,  but  even  the 
awful  threat  of  not  giving  the  driver  a  tip  did  not 
hold  him  in  for  more  than  a  hundred  yards  at  a 
stretch  from  letting  that  car  tear  along  at  its 
maddest.  He  took  us  to  see  a  gurgling  little  river, 
the  Bolsa,  tripping  through  a  sylvan  glade  which 
caused  me  to  exclaim,  "  Why,  it  is  just  like  a  bit  of 
Dovedale !  " 

Off  again  at  a  furious  pace,  heaving,  diving, 
skirting  hills.  "  If  there  is  a  smash  you  will  be  the 
first  killed."  But  the  chauffeur  only  laughed  over 
his  shoulder.  We  struck  up  a  defile,  and  the  hills 
rose  high  on  either  side.  Mountain  ponies  scamp- 
ered about ;  goats  hailed  us  from  rocky  heights. 
Gauchos,  swarthy  and  handsome,  with  their  women 
perched  behind,  were  overtaken  on  stallions 
which  were  restive  and  inclined  to  bolt  at  the 
approach  of  the  automobile.  A  bend  in  the  narrow 
way,  and  we  nearly  ran  into  a  funeral  procession ; 
the  coffin  on  a  cart  and  covered  with  a  dingy  pall, 


CORDOBA   AND    ITS  ATTRACTIONS     171 

and  the  friends  of  the  dead  man  in  many  and  varied 
vehicles  following,  in  no  garb  of  mourning,  but  non- 
chalantly smoking  cigarettes.  There  was  backing  of 
the  car  till  it  could  be  run  on  a  piece  of  grass.  The 
horses  hauling  the  dead  man  laid  their  ears  well 
forward  and  then  well  back,  but  were  led  past  the 
thing  they  were  afraid  of  without  accident.  We 
exchanged  the  greetings  of  the  day  with  the  friends 
of  the  dead  man.  He  was  going  to  be  buried  twelve 
miles  away,  and  it  would  be  well  into  the  night  before 
they  got  back.  The  motor-car  snorted  and  jumped 
on  its  way.     It  was  a  beautiful  afternoon. 

The  chauffeur  brought  us  to  a  chalet  which  we 
reached  by  crossing  a  brook  and  passing  through 
a  garden.  It  was  a  house  of  refreshment.  And  what 
kind  of  refreshment  in  an  out-of-the-way  part  of 
the  world  ?  A  sad-faced  girl  gave  us  a  curtsy  and 
waited  our  orders  whilst  we  stretched  our  legs  be- 
neath an  orange  tree.  Now  what  had  she  to  offer 
in  the  way  of  refreshment  ?  The  sefiors  could 
have  what  they  wished.  I  inquired  about  cham- 
pagne. Certainly  !  But  who  on  earth  could  want 
champagne  on  the  edge  of  the  world  out  there  ? 
We  did  not  have  champagne.  We  had  a  bottle  of 
native  white  wine  and  aerated  water.  The  chauf- 
feur !  Oh,  his  fancy  ran  to  a  bottle  of  beer  ;  indeed, 
he  had  two  bottles  of  beer.  And  who  was  the  dead 
man  we  had  passed  ?  we  asked  the  maid.  Her 
brother.  Last  night  he  took  ill  and  ere  morning  he 
was  dead,  and  now  they  had  taken  him  away.  An 
old  man  came  to  the  door  and  looked  up  the  sun- 


172         THE    AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

lit  valley.  The  little  two-year-old  son  of  the  dead 
man  had  a  stick,  and  was  chasing  some  ducks  to- 
ward the  brook ;  he  was  radiantly  happy.  We 
commiserated  with  the  old  man.  He  thanked  the 
seiiors  and  hoped  the  wine  was  as  we  wished.  He 
did  not  know  why  his  son  died  ;  the  sweet  Mother 
in  Heaven  knew ;  anyway,  he  had  gone  ;  could  he 
get  the  sefior  another  chair,  for  that  he  was  sitting 
on  could  not  be  comfortable  ? 

Back  to  Alta  Gracia.  Some  of  our  friends  had 
been  playing  golf,  and  we  must  go  to  the  club-house. 
A  well-laid-out  nine-hole  course,  but  the  "  greens  " 
are  of  caked  mud ;  they  cannot  grow  grass  out 
here  as  we  can  at  home.  There  is  the  usual  golfers' 
talk ;  there  was  "  rotten  luck  being  bunkered  just 
in  front  of  the  fourth  hole  "  ;  "  That  was  a  lovely 
drive  from  the  eighth  " ;  "  Hang  it  all,  he  was  quite 
off  colour  with  his  brassie,  and  he  generally  fancied 
himself  with  his  brassie  work  "  ;  "  Well,  of  all  the 
fortunate  foozlers,  a  chap  like  that  doing  the  fifth 
in  three  " — and  so  on.  It  was  just  like  dear  old 
England. 

Somebody  remarked  there  were  gaucho  races 
over  on  the  other  side  of  the  town.  Gaucho  races — 
races  amongst  the  men  of  the  soil,  the  native  cow- 
boys of  the  Argentine  prairies !  Tune  up  that 
motor-car.  I  can  see  lots  of  golf  in  other  parts  of 
the  world,  but  here  was  one  of  the  things  I  had 
dreamed  about  coming  out  to  see — a  gaucho  race- 
meeting. 

No,  I  have  no  need  to  think  out  admiring  adjec- 


CORDOBA   AND    ITS   ATTRACTIONS    173 

tives  to  describe  that  course.  It  was  only  a  bit  of 
a  course.  The  posts  were  ramshackle,  and  the  wire 
which  had  connected  them  was  broken  and  trailed 
on  the  ground,  or  had  gone  altogether.  There  was 
what  I  took  to  be  intended  for  a  grand  stand,  a 
wheezy  erection  of  unpainted  wood,  but  there  was 
nobody  on  it. 

There  were  hundreds  of  gauchos,  the  real  article, 
with  skins  like  leather,  eyes  as  black  as  night,  and 
most  of  them  were  on  ponies  and  astride  Spanish 
saddles,  and  they  were  picturesquely  garbed,  but 
not  so  picturesquely  as  you  see  them  in  coloured 
illustrations.  They  were  noisy,  and  prancing  their 
horses  about  and  challenging  each  other.  They  had 
ridden  in  fifteen  and  twenty  miles,  some  of  them, 
and  their  women  had  driven  in  the  carts  with  pro- 
visions for  the  day.  The  women  had  little  encamp- 
ments in  the  bushes,  and  fires  burning,  and  they 
made  coffee  and  served  their  lords  with  chunks  of 
food. 

The  men  are  all  laughing  and  arguing  the  merits 
of  their  ponies.  Nearly  everybody  is  mounted.  One 
gaucho  is  jumping  from  group  to  group,  waving  two 
paper  pesos  (about  3s.  4d.)  and  demanding  who 
will  lay  two  pesos  against  his  pony.  The  jabber  is 
interminable.  He  gets  taken.  Excitement  runs 
through  the  crowd.  The  competitors  each  hand 
the  money  to  an  old  fellow  who  stands  on  a  rickety 
platform  which  serves  as  judges'  box.  Then  they 
amble  off  toward  a  tree  where  they  are  their  own 
starters.     A   native   policeman   frantically   yells   for 


174         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

the  course  to  be  cleared.  Some  sort  of  passage-way 
is  made,  and  then  there  is  the  customary  confounded 
dog  wlilch  will  not  get  out  of  the  way. 

Here  they  come,  and  in  a  pelt  of  dust.  They  ride 
well  and  with  a  loose  rein.  The  riders  swing  their 
arms  and  yell  as  though  they  would  frighten  their 
steeds  to  greater  efforts.  You  can  feel  the  quiver 
in  the  crowd.  By  go  the  horses,  running  neck  to 
neck.  But  one  has  won  by  a  nose.  The  winner 
trots  up  smiling,  and  he  gets  the  four  pesos  held 
by  the  judge. 

But  the  clamour  has  begun  again.  One  man, 
rather  a  gaudy  buck  and  with  a  fine  horse,  challenges 
the  world.  He  will  race  any  man  for  five  pesos,  and 
he  has  the  money  in  his  hand  to  show  he  means 
business.  Well,  he  will  lay  his  five  pesos  to  any- 
body else's  four.  Everybody  is  talking  about  his 
own  horse,  or  somebody  else's  horse,  or  egging  two 
enthusiasts  to  cease  their  talking  and  have  the  thing 
settled  by  a  race. 

These  gauchos  belong  to  a  long  line  of  men  who 
have  lived  on  their  prairies  and  had  to  do  with 
horses  ever  since  the  Spaniards  first  landed.  They 
go  to  horse-races  not  for  a  pleasant  holiday,  but 
because  the  fever  of  horse-racing  is  in  their  veins. 

And  that  night  after  dinner  we  sat  in  the 
great  light  of  the  veranda,  and  the  mighty  purple 
night  was  beyond,  and  the  air  was  heavy  with  the 
musk  which  rises  from  the  plains  after  a  hot  day 
and  the  great  locusts  which  swerved  toward  us ! 
Some  women  gave  little  screams  in  fear  they  might 


CORDOBA   AND    ITS   ATTRACTIONS    175 

get  amongst  their  hair.  Men  who  knew  their  harm- 
lessness — except  when  there  was  a  crop  of  young 
wheat  to  be  devoured — caught  them  in  their  hands. 
We  tramped  through  the  dimly  Ut  village  and 
heard  the  songs  of  Spain  and  Italy  streaming  from 
the  cafes.  We  saw  the  crowd  of  nierry-makers 
packing  into  the  train  to  return  to  Cordoba.  And 
when  the  train,  a  streak  of  light,  had  snorted  into 
the  blackness  till  in  the  distance  it  appeared  like  a 
crawling  glowworm,  we  got  chairs  from  out  of  the 
private  car  and  sat  beneath  the  stars  and  smoked 
our  pipes,  and  wondered  what  was  happening  in 
England.  At  first  there  was  warmth  in  the  air. 
But  the  chill  of  midnight  had  come,  and  the  grass- 
hoppers had  ceased  their  song,  before  we  climbed 
to  bed. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

BAHIA  BLANCA  AND  THE  COUNTRY  BEYOND 

If  I  were  suddenly  asked  to  name  the  town  which 
has  most  rapidly  sprung  ahead  during  the  last  few 
years,  Bahia  Blanca  would  at  once  jump  to  my  lips. 

It  is  350  miles  south  of  the  River  Plate,  and  if 
you  searched  the  coast  line  for  six  hundred  miles 
below  Buenos  Aires  it  is  only  here  you  would  find 
a  natural  harbour  capable  of  receiving  the  largest 
of  steamers.  With  the  gradual  silting  of  the  River 
Plate,  which,  notwithstanding  constant  dredging, 
will  be  a  constant  handicap  to  the  shipping  of  the 
capital  and  Rosario,  Bahia  Blanca,  with  advan- 
tages which  neither  of  the  other  two  towns  pos- 
sesses, will  undoubtedly  become  the  real  Liverpool 
of  Argentina. 

In  1880  the  place  had  a  population  of  less  than 
2,000.  To-day  its  population  is  70,000,  and  it  is 
increasing  rapidly.  Already  it  has  third  place  in 
commercial  importance  amongst  the  cities  of  the 
country,  and  its  ambition  is  to  rival  Buenos  Aires 
itself. 

Old  timers — men  who  have  been  in  the  place  a 
dozen  years — waxed  enthusiastic  to  me  about  the 
way  in  which  an  unpaved  village,  built  on  a  flat,  dusty, 

treeless  waste,   has   become   a  city  of  broad   paved 

176 


BAHIA    BLANGA  i77 

streets  and  plazas,  with  imposing  public  buildings, 
public  gardens,  electric  tramways,  electric  light,  and 
an  excellent  water  supply. 

There  was  something  exhilarating  in  driving  in 
a  motor-car  along  a  busy  thoroughfare,  with  big 
shops  on  either  side,  and  with  clanging  tramcars 
picking  up  and  dropping  passengers,  and  to  be 
reminded  that  seven  years  before  the  place  was 
quite  a  wilderness.  The  way  in  which  some  men 
had  made  money  quickly  made  the  mouth  water 
when  one  was  shown  a  plot  of  land  which  had 
originally  been  purchased  for  a  few  dollars,  sold  a 
few  years  later  for  10,000  dollars,  and  which  had 
changed  hands  only  a  month  or  two  later  for 
30,000  dollars. 

Though  open  to  the  scourge  of  disagreeable  sand- 
storms— I  experienced  one  during  my  visit — the 
town  is  well  placed,  with  fine  open  spaces ;  and 
though  the  public  park  is  a  little  "  raw,"  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  park  at  all,  with  excellent  drives  and 
many  trees,  is  the  wonderful  thing.  I  dined  one 
night  at  an  excellent  hotel,  and  afterwards  accom- 
panied some  friends  to  a  wine  hall,  where  men 
brought  their  wives  and  children  and  witnessed  a 
pleasant  kinematograph  entertainment.  Of  course 
there  is  an  Argentine  Club,  and,  though  without  the 
sedate  restfulness  which  English  folk  like  to  feel 
is  the  characteristic  of  their  clubs,  its  dimensions 
and  luxuriance  provide  a  building  which  would  be 
a  credit  to  any  town  three  times  its  size.  Bahia 
Blanca  has  a  model  municipality,  and,  with  all  respect 

M 


178         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

to  the  Spanish-Italian  Argentines,  I  believe  the  secret 
is  that  the  development  of  the  town  has  been  chiefly 
in  the  hands  of  Englishmen. 

With  the  opening  of  the  country,  fresh  areas  of 
land  placed  under  cultivation  and  with  thousands 
of  miles  lying  at  the  back  capable  of  wheat  growing 
and  cattle  raising,  Bahia  Blanca  is  swiftly  coming 
into  its  own.  The  land  was  practically  useless  so 
long  as  there  was  no  transport,  but  now,  with  the 
Great  Southern  Railway,  the  Buenos  Aires  and 
Pacific  Railway  and  other  lines  converging  upon  the 
town,  every  year  marks  an  increase  in  trade.  For 
instance,  in  1901  seventy  vessels  were  cleared  from 
the  port ;  in  1912  there  were  four  hundred  and 
twenty-two.  In  the  same  two  years  the  shipments 
in  wool  jumped  from  26,123  tons  to  55,552  ;  the 
number  of  hides  from  394  to  77,401  ;  the  tons  of 
hair  from  3  to  248  ;  and  the  tons  of  cereals  from 
188,875  to  1,747,702. 

Let  honour  go  where  honour  is  due.  It  was  the 
coming  of  the  railways  which  gave  Bahia  Blanca 
its  leap  forward.  In  1884  the  Great  Southern  Rail- 
way first  pushed  its  rails  so  far  south.  They  ran 
through  a  country  which,  loosely,  might  be  described 
as  desert.  The  bringing  of  the  railway  was  like 
putting  new  life  into  the  desert.  Estancias  dotted 
the  landscape.  In  1885  an  insignificant  mole  was 
built  by  the  Great  Southern  to  receive  its  own 
materials,  but  this  mole  has  developed  into  the 
present  Port  of  Engineer  White — called  after  the 
man  who  built  it — which  deals  Avith  over  a  million 


BAHIA   BLANGA  179 

tons  of  public  traffic  yearly.  This  port  is  a  little 
over  four  miles  from  Bahia  Blanca,  and  has  berths 
for  ten  vessels  of  less  draught.  I  climbed  through 
the  two  grain  elevators,  stacked  with  26,000  tons 
of  wheat  in  sacks.  By  means  of  electric  bands 
grain  can  be  conveyed  to  eight  vessels  at  a  time, 
and  in  the  busy  season  ships  have  been  known  to 
take  over  five  thousand  tons  in  a  little  over  six 
hours.  Being  a  place  of  yesterday's  growth  all  the 
newest  appliances  are  to  be  found,  including  thirty 
electric  cranes,  powerful  tugs,  floating  grain  elevators. 
Indeed,  the  Southern  company  admit  to  an  expendi- 
ture on  the  port  of  £2,000,000. 

But  the  port  made  by  the  Buenos  Aires  and  Pacific 
Railway  Company,  Puerto  Galvan,  occupying  a 
position  of  fine  natural  advantage  on  the  estuary 
of  the  bay  and  lying  a  mile  or  two  across  the  flat 
from  Engineer  White,  has  also  to  be  seen.  At  high 
tide  there  is  a  mean  depth  of  twenty-eight  feet,  and 
plenty  of  good  anchorage  is  in  the  mainway.  Puerto 
Galvan  is  five  miles  from  Bahia  Blanca,  and  to  a 
great  extent  has  been  built  on  reclaimed  swampy 
ground.  I  see  the  day  when  warehouses  and  further 
elevators  will  cover  this  piece  of  reclaimed  mudbank, 
and  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  Mr.  Stevens, 
the  engineer,  a  man  of  great  ability  and  much 
modesty,  has  performed  a  fine  piece  of  work.  The 
port  has  accommodation  for  twelve  ocean-going 
steamers,  and  the  berths,  which  have  a  total  length 
of  over  4,000  feet,  have  been  constructed  with  a 
view  to  the  rapid  handling  of  cargo.     Here  again 


i8o         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

the  appliances,  elevators  to  handle  8,000  tons  a 
day,  thirty- six  cranes,  traversers,  capstans,  are  all 
electrically  driven.  The  total  effective  power  amounts 
to  4,265  horse-power.  The  port  and  the  shunting 
yards  are  all  lit  at  night  with  electricity,  and  ships 
can  be  illuminated.  There  are  special  facilities  for 
the  embarkation  of  cattle.  Large  bonded  warehouses 
are  in  course  of  construction.  There  is  a  flour  mill 
with  a  capacity  of  100  tons  a  day.  Large  storage 
tanks  have  been  erected  for  the  accumulation  of 
crude  oil,  an  important  provision  in  a  country  so 
deficient  in  coal.  I  looked  across  the  sweep  lying 
between  Puerto  Galvan  and  Engineer  White,  and 
visioned  the  day  when  it  will  be  occupied  with 
warehouses  and  industrial  enterprises,  for  oil  fuel 
and  electric  power  can  be  quickly  and  cheaply 
supplied. 

One  morning  I  visited  the  Victoria  Wool  Market, 
long  rows  of  well-built  sheds,  where  not  only  wool 
but  cereals  and  general  camp  produce  are  sold.  I 
doubt  if  anywhere  there  is  a  similar  market  quite 
so  large,  for  it  has  a  floor  area  of  484,000  square  feet 
and  a  storage  capacity  of  50,000  tons.  Close  by 
are  the  deposits  to  receive  the  Mendoza  wines,  which 
will  have  a  profitable  European  sale  when  once  the 
supply  grows  beyond  the  Argentine  demand.  Then 
there  are  deposits  for  the  storage  of  alfalfa.  The 
spread  of  development  was  revealed  by  the  remarks 
which  came  in  reply  to  my  inquiries.  "  Oh,  that 
was  built  last  year  "  ;  "  This  was  erected  a  couple 
of  years  ago,  but  we  are  going  to  make  extensions  "  ; 


BAHIA   BLANGA  i8i 

"  Five  years  ago  we  thought  this  place  big  enough, 
but  we  are  going  to  pull  it  down  and  put  up  some- 
thing ten  times  the  size."  Here  was  commercial 
progress  expanding  monthly.  Here  was  a  town 
which  had  been  little  more  to  me  than  a  name  on 
the  South  American  coast  before  I  visited  it — and 
I  consider  myself  a  travelled  man — and  when  I  saw 
its  energy  and  its  growth  I  wondered  how  much 
the  great  industrial  populations  of  crowded  Europe 
knew  of  what  was  taking  place  so  many  thousands 
of  miles  across  the  sea. 

The  success  of  Bahia  Blanca  lies  in  the  back 
country  known  as  the  pampa.  I  journeyed  across 
it  in  a  trip  from  Mendoza  to  Bahia  Blanca,  and,  as 
the  name  denotes,  it  is  a  vast  featureless  plain. 
Most  of  it  is  naturally  fertile,  but  even  regions  that 
are  sandy  will  be  productive  in  the  growing  of  alfalfa, 
which  seems  specially  suitable,  and  which  will  not 
only  maintain  herds  of  cattle,  but  is  profitable  as  a 
feeding  stuff  to  be  exported.  As  yet  the  pampa 
has  been  little  more  than  scratched.  From  the  rail- 
way cars  the  idea  is  obtained  that  the  whole  of  the 
country  is  converted  to  the  use  of  man.  Ten  or 
twenty  miles  beyond  the  line  you  reach  desert — 
desert  so  far  as  use  is  concerned,  though  the  illimit- 
able expanse  of  waving  grass  tells  the  tale  of  future 
possibilities.  Wherever  the  railways  stretch  their 
arms  there  is  cultivation,  for  the  ever  spreading 
population  follows  quickly  on  the  laying  down  of 
the  rails. 

I  have  heard  people  talk  about  the  monotony  of 


i82         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

the  pampa.  But  this  territory  has  a  special  fas- 
cination of  its  own.  There  is  a  bigness,  an  immensity, 
an  unendingness  which  lays  hold  of  the  imagination. 
The  great  silence,  save  for  the  play  of  the  wind 
amongst  the  long  grass,  seizes  the  fancy.  Sunrise 
and  sunset  come  and  go  in  a  wonderful  glory.  At 
the  birth  of  day  all  the  grass  sparkles  with  dew ; 
the  softest  colours  seem  to  brush  the  world.  When 
the  sun  is  up,  and  blazes  from  a  sky  with  all 
the  blue  burnt  out  of  it,  a  sort  of  oppressive  hot 
hush  rests  upon  the  world.  The  long  grass  seems 
to  drowse  beneath  the  pitiless  glare.  You  can  travel 
for  hundreds  of  miles  and  never  see  a  hillock  or  a 
tree  or  a  beast,  or  hear  a  bird.  But  into  this  land 
man  is  slowly  but  persistently  penetrating.  To  folk 
who  live  at  home  the  life  seems  deadening.  Yet 
men  come  to  love  it,  not  passionately  but  clingingly, 
so  that  many  a  man  who  has  "  made  his  pile  "  and 
returned  home  to  spend  it  in  ease  begins  to  crave 
for  the  pampa,  and  he  is  not  content  until  he  visits 
it  again. 

Gradually  this  area  is  being  transformed.  Estan- 
cias,  with  their  eternal  clump  of  trees  and  inevitable 
windmill  pump,  break  the  line  of  the  horizon.  Cattle 
stray  over  the  prairie.  The  mud  hovels  of  the 
colonists  are  black  specks,  and  when  you  reach 
them  you  j&nd  that  a  big  slice  of  the  land  has  been 
given  to  the  plough  and  is  fenced  with  wire.  Here 
also  are  the  sheep  farms,  and,  as  I  have  indicated, 
Bahia  Blanca  is  the  chief  market  for  wool.  Yet 
sheep  rearing  in  the  Argentine,  extensive  though  it  is. 


BAHIA   BLANGA  1B3 

may  be  said  to  be  stationary.  This  is  not  because 
the  limits  of  expansion  have  been  reached,  but 
simply  because  cattle  and  wheat  have  been  found 
more  profitable.  The  quality  of  wool,  inferior  to 
that  of  Australia,  may  have  something  to  do  with 
the  restriction.  The  constant  tendency  is  toward 
hair,  and  the  natural  condition  of  wool  is  only  main- 
tained by  the  importation  of  English  sheep.  Then 
the  animals  are  disposed  to  be  gaunt  rather  than 
good  meat  producers.  These  are  drawbacks  which 
have  had  their  influence  on  breeding  as  a  money- 
making  business.  But  the  Argentines  are  a  practical 
people,  and  everything  connected  with  agriculture 
they  tackle  in  a  scientific  manner.  That  the  con- 
sequence of  their  experiments  in  cross  breeding  will 
be  the  production  of  an  acclimatised  sheep,  valuable 
for  wool  or  mutton  or  both,  I  have  no  doubt.  Farther 
south  toward  Patagonia,  where  the  climate  is  more 
temperate  and  where  there  is  fodder,  I  look  upon 
as  one  of  the  great  sheep  tracks  of  the  world.  The 
European  market  for  chilled  mutton  will  be  a  spur 
to  sheep-breeding. 

Indeed,  there  are  indications  that  the  country 
at  the  back  of  Bahia  Blanca  is  being  appreciated  as 
the  sheep  lands.  It  has  been  found  that  English 
sheep  do  better  here  than  elsewhere.  The  Lincoln, 
Leicester,  Romney  Marsh,  and  Merino  sheep  do 
well.  There  is  a  good  opening  in  this  area  for  the 
British  immigrant  with  money.  Though  there  are 
something  approaching  one  hundred  million  sheep 
in  the  Republic,  there  is  room  for  hundreds  of  millions 


i84         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

more.  But  the  indifferent  strain,  consequent  on  a 
long-woolled  Spanish  breed  having  run  wild  for  over 
two  hundred  years,  must  be  eradicated  if  Argentina 
is  going  to  secure  and  hold  a  foremost  place  in  the 
wool  markets  of  the  world.  I  have  been  told  this 
has  been  done  during  the  last  half  century,  but  I 
am  by  no  means  convinced.  For  a  long  time  the 
West  Riding  of  Yorkshire  had  a  prejudice  against 
Argentine  wool.  This  no  longer  exists.  The 
preference  is  given  to  Australian  wool  not  for 
any  patriotic  reasons,  but  simply  because  it  is 
better. 

Argentina  has  for  some  time  been  attracting 
breeders  from  New  Zealand,  and  they  have  done 
much,  by  the  importation  of  stock  from  England, 
to  improve  the  quality.  At  present  three  out  of 
every  four  sheep  stations  are  in  the  hands  of  men 
of  British  name.  You  can  strike  a  line  from  a  little 
north  of  Bahia  Blanca,  and  then  reckon  that  most 
of  the  country  lying  south,  right  down  to  Patagonia, 
is  suitable  for  sheep.  But  it  is  not  all  of  equal 
value.  Sheep  that  are  turned  out  on  the  alfalfa 
lands  provide  good  mutton,  but  the  wool  is  inferior. 
The  fine  grasses  of  the  near  south  seem  inclined  to 
make  coarse  wool ;  yet  careful  crossing  is  doing 
much  to  prevent  this.  Still,  I  am  strongly  dis- 
posed to  agree  with  M.  Bernandez,  that  there  is  no 
reason  why  either  the  coarse  or  fine  wools  now 
produced  should  be  abandoned.  The  coarse,  long 
wool  will  always  have  its  use  not  only  in  rough 
goods,  but  also  in  the  warp  of  fine  cloths,  which  in 


v«. 


\^ 


BAHIA   BLANGA  185 

the  great  mechanical  looms  has  to  be  extremely 
strong.  He  looks  to  the  establishment  of  woollen 
manufactories  in  the  Argentine,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, the  development  on  a  colossal  scale  of  all 
the  breeds. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   FUTURE   OF   AGRICULTURE 

It  is,  as  I  have  abundantly  shown,  a  simple  truism 
to  say  that  Argentina  is  one  of  the  principal  agri- 
cultural countries  in  the  world.  But  how  far  is  the 
country  going  to  advance  ? 

In  the  great  industrial  lands  of  the  earth  the 
tendency  of  population  is  away  from  the  land.  But 
the  increase  of  population  means  a  bigger  demand 
for  food.  The  time  is  swiftly  coming  when  the 
United  States  will  have  difficulty  in  growing  sufficient 
to  feed  her  own  people,  and  must  look  elsewhere. 
The  wheat  area  in  Canada  is  immense,  but  its  extent 
is  now  well  known.  The  wheat  lands  in  the  Dominion 
are  travelling  farther  north,  and  though  a  short 
summer  with  long  hours  of  sunshine  are  sufficient 
speedily  to  raise  crops,  there  is  the  danger — and  it 
is  foolish  to  close  one's  eyes  to  it — that  a  summer 
frost  may  produce  a  sudden  shortage  in  the  world's 
wheat  supply.  Russia  is  capable  of  further  develop- 
ment in  wheat  growing,  and  there  are  huge  possi- 
bilities in  Siberia,  which,  physically,  is  a  twin  country 
to  Canada.  But  the  Russians  are  the  poorest  of 
farmers,  and  the  agricultural  progress  of  the  land 
of  the  Tsar  is  doubtful. 

Then  there  are  plains  of  Australia  which  ought 

1 86 


THE  FUTURE  OF  AGRICULTURE    187 

to  be  doing  much  more  in  food  production.  But  it 
cannot  be  said  that  the  native-born  Australian  is 
really  fond  of  life  in  the  back  blocks.  Anyway,  the 
disproportionate  size  of  the  urban  to  the  rural  popu- 
lations would  indicate  he  is  not.  Though  of  late 
years  something  has  been  done  to  stimulate  immi- 
gration, the  result  is  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  needs 
of  a  country  like  the  Commonwealth. 

One  reason  is  that  Australia  is  so  much  farther 
off  than  Canada,  and  there  is  a  belief  amongst  the 
country  people  of  Great  Britain  that  the  prospects 
of  success  are  not  so  immediate.  Further,  there  is 
the  unfortunate  but  undoubted  and  growing  idea 
amongst  Englishmen  that  Australians,  as  a  whole, 
are  not  kindly  disposed  to  new-comers,  and  that 
the  fresh  arrival  has  a  rough  time  of  it  before  he 
shakes  himself  down  to  the  fresh  life.  I  do  not 
discuss  these  points.  I  mention  their  existence  as 
some  reason  why  Australia  is  not  able  to  play  the 
part  it  is  entitled  to  play  as  a  great  wheat  country. 

Now  the  best  wheat  lands  of  Argentina  lie  within 
the  semi-tropical  or  temperate  zone.  I  have  already 
explained  why  it  does  not  have  the  attractions 
which  British  colonies  can  offer  to  the  man  with 
grit  and  muscle  who  desires  to  secure  independ- 
ence. But  it  does  draw  to  its  shores  a  big  army 
of  workers  from  Italy  and  Spain,  without  the  ambition 
of  Britons  and  content  to  be  the  servants  of  other 
men.  Labour  is  comparatively  cheap.  The  country 
is  easy  to  reach.  The  drift  is  not  to  the  towns 
but    to    the    agricultural    districts.     The    range    for 


i88         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

wheat  growing  is  boundless.  But  the  possibiUty 
of  drought  is  not  to  be  overlooked. 

The  money  invested  in  agriculture  falls  short  of 
that  invested  in  live  stock.  But  there  are  more 
persons  directly  interested  in  the  growing  of  cereals, 
and  I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  it  counts  more 
for  the  genuine,  happy  prosperity  of  a  nation  that 
a  large  proportion  of  the  population  should  be 
attached  to  the  soil  than  when  greater  wealth  is 
secured  by  a  smaller  number.  In  my  opinion  it 
would  be  better  if  there  were  easier  means  for  the 
comparatively  small  holder,  the  man  with  anything 
from  three  hundred  to  a  thousand  acres,  to  settle. 
I  was  not  unconscious  of  a  movement,  such  as  there 
is  in  Australia,  to  break  up  the  big  estates,  but  at 
the  present  it  is  nebulous,  merely  something  in  the 
air ;  and  though  the  Latins,  when  they  act,  will 
act  swiftly,  the  type  of  colonist  and  labourer  who 
lands,  though  he  votes  Socialist  when  he  gets  the 
chance,  is  not  of  the  brand  to  take  vigorous  political 
action  to  secure  land.  His  conditions  are  improved 
in  comparison  within  his  native  country,  and  he 
is  inclined  for  the  present  to  be  content. 

There  is,  however,  a  rustling  amongst  the  leaves. 
There  is  a  feeling  amongst  Argentine  politicians 
that  the  peon  and  the  colonist  have  little  chance  of 
becoming  owners  of  small  farms  unless  they  are 
assisted  by  credit  banks.  Various  proposals  have 
been  made  ;  but  the  one  now  before  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  fathered  by  the  Minister  of  Agriculture, 
provides  for  the  establishment  of  agricultural  banks 


THE  FUTURE  OF  AGRICULTURE    189 

and  the  erection  of  warehouses  to  receive  produce 
as  a  pledge  against  cash  advances. 

It  is  reckoned  that  between  £8,000,000  and 
£9,000,000  is  necessary  to  set  the  scheme  on  its 
legs,  and  the  idea  is  that  the  State  should  find  half 
the  money  and  private  capital  provide  the  other 
half. 

Further,  as  most  of  the  best  land  is  in  large 
estates  and  private  ownership,  there  is  a  growing 
public  opinion  that  the  Government  would  do  well 
if  it  bought  up  some  of  these  enormous  estancias  at 
their  present  value,  cut  them  into  small  holdings, 
and  let  them  on  the  deferred  payment  system  to 
colonists.  This  would  reqiure  enormous  capital. 
State  provided.  But,  human  nature  being  what  it 
is,  men  in  one  part  of  the  country  are  opposed  to 
finding  money  for  the  benefit  of  another  part.  They 
do  not  look  upon  it  as  a  national  investment  which 
will  bring  good  return  to  the  State  as  a  whole  so 
much  as  increasing  the  productivity  and  population 
in  particular  parts.  However,  some  progress  has 
been  made  when  you  get  a  general  consensus  that, 
unbounded  though  Argentina's  capabilities  are,  closer 
settlement  is  necessary  to  provide  ballast  in  the 
economic  progress  of  the  nation. 

"  Give  us  of  the  best ;  let  us  be  up-to-date  and 
scientific ;  let  us  have  the  latest  twentieth-century 
equipment  so  that  Argentina  may  have  first  place  " 
— that  is  the  temper  of  the  people  toward  agriculture. 
Much  has  been  done,  an  amazing  amount,  to  place 
Argentina  in  the  front  line  of  agrarian  education. 


190         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

In  giving  praise  there  is,  I  know,  always  the  danger 
of  overdoing  it.  And  whilst  the  Argentine  has  a 
good  conceit  of  himself,  he  has  the  quality,  not  always 
readily  discernible  in  a  new  country,  of  being  able 
to  see  his  weak  points  and  being  willing  to  learn. 
Here  is  a  frank  statement  which  I  cull  from  the 
Anales  de  la  Sociedad  Rural  Argentine :  "  Up  to  the 
present  agriculture  has  hardly  been  carried  on  in 
a  scientific,  regular,  methodic,  reasonable  and  eco- 
nomic manner  with  the  endeavour  to  get  from  the 
soil  all  the  benefit  and  yield  it  can  give.  The 
empiric  methods  of  cultivation  often  employed  up 
to  now  have  given  profits  on  account  of  the  fertility 
of  the  land,  its  exuberance,  which,  without  great 
expense,  yields  a  return  far  larger  than  the  general 
average  known  in  other  agricultural  countries." 

Less  than  forty  years  ago  it  took  Argentina  all 
its  time  to  grow  enough  wheat  to  supply  its  own 
needs,  though  its  population  was  only  a  third  what 
it  is  at  present.  Within  the  memory  of  many 
Argentina  had  to  import  wheat.  Indeed,  as  near 
as  1876  thousands  of  tons  of  flour  had  to  be  brought 
into  the  country.  It  is  the  recollection  of  this,  in 
comparison  with  the  conditions  to-day,  which  pro- 
claims better  than  any  attempts  at  fine  writing  the 
strides  which  have  been  made.  Look  at  the  jumps. 
In  1888  the  crops  covered  some  6,076,500  acres, 
representing  an  increase  of  4,626,500  acres  in  six- 
teen years,  an  addition  that  seven  years  later  had 
reached  6,012,000  acres.  By  1895  the  total  was 
12,088,000.     Then   came   the    wave.     By    1908    the 


THE  FUTURE  OF  AGRICULTURE    191 

total  was  43,692,228  acres,  an  increase  of  31,608,728 
acres  in  thirteen  years,  or  261  per  cent.  In  1911 
the  area  cultivated  was  54,258,772  acres,  and  at 
the  time  of  writing  it  must  be  approaching  70,000,000 
acres.  That  tells  its  own  story.  Yet  only  one-sixth 
of  the  country  suitable  for  cultivation  has  been 
broken  by  the  plough.  The  value  of  the  principal 
products  of  Argentine  agriculture,  wheat,  maize, 
oats  and  linseed,  for  1913  is  estimated  at  something 
over  £80,000,000. 

One  strong  advantage  Argentina  has  is  that  the 
crops  are  spread  over  an  extensive  area.  They  are 
grown  in  regions  so  far  distant  from  one  another 
that  no  fear  is  felt  at  any  time  of  a  total  loss  of  the 
harvest.  The  Republic  now  sends  her  products  to 
countries  that  were  her  purveyors  up  to  a  few  years 
ago.  In  the  production  of  linseed  she  has  first  place 
amongst  the  nations.  In  maize  she  figures  in  the 
third  place,  coming  after  North  America  and  Austria- 
Hungary  ;  but  in  export  of  maize  she  comes  first. 
In  the  production  of  wheat  Argentina  holds  the 
sixth  position,  coming  after  the  United  States, 
Russia,  France,  India,  and  Austria-Hungary ;  but 
in  export  of  wheat  and  flour  she  has  first  rank.  We 
in  Britain  have  Canada  so  much  before  our  eyes  that 
we  assume  her  progress  is  unequalled.  The  Anales 
de  la  Sociedad  Rural  Argentine  is  responsible  for  some 
interesting  comparisons  directed  to  show  that  the 
Argentine  farmer  can  produce  for  43s.  5d.  an  acre 
what  it  costs  the  Canadian  farmer  88s.  4d.  to  pro- 
duce.    Whilst  the  occupancy  of  land  has  increased 


192         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

75  per  cent,  in  thirty  years  in  Canada,  it  has  in- 
creased by  284  per  cent,  in  Argentina.  Whilst 
Canada  has  20,000,000  more  acres  occupied  than 
Argentina,  the  RepubUc  is  far  ahead  of  the  Dominion 
in  the  value  of  her  live  stock. 

Though  the  capabilities  of  Argentina  in  wheat 
growing  have  been  known  for  centuries,  and  have 
not  recently  come  in  the  nature  of  a  revelation  as 
may  be  said  in  regard  to  Canada,  the  reason  the  boom 
has  been  so  long  delayed  has  been  because  the  country 
was  in  the  throes  of  revolution,  thereby  frightening 
off  foreign  capital,  and  because  of  the  lack  of  trans- 
port. But  revolutions  can  now  be  described  as  things 
of  the  past,  and  for  its  population  Argentina  has  the 
longest  mileage  of  railways  in  the  world.  The  day  is 
not  far  distant  when  Argentina  will  produce  10,000,000 
tons  of  wheat  a  year.  Remarkable  and  gratifying, 
from  a  trader's  point  of  view,  though  her  increase 
of  exports  are,  the  figures  are  not  so  satisfying  from 
a  national  standpoint.  Her  increase  of  population, 
big  though  it  is,  is  by  no  means  keeping  pace  with 
her  increase  in  productivity. 

Notwithstanding  the  spread  of  agricultural  edu- 
cation, I  must  say  that  full  value  is  not  got  out  of 
the  land.  Much  of  the  farming  is  slovenly.  This 
is  partly  due  to  race,  but  chiefly  because  the  farmers 
are  not  owners,  but  only  occupiers  in  return  for 
giving  a  proportion  of  the  crop  to  the  owner.  Further, 
if  there  is  an  unsatisfactory  season  the  colonists 
neglect  the  land,  take  their  departure,  and  try  their 
luck   elsewhere.     The   Argentines   are   conscious   of 


THE  FUTURE  OF  AGRICULTURE    193 

the  difficulties,  and,  as  I  have  indicated,  the  remedy 
will  probably  be  found  by  the  State  purchasing 
great  estates,  cutting  them  into  small  farms,  and 
letting  the  colonists  become  the  owners  on  easy 
terms.  In  alluding  to  the  immigration  in  a  former 
chapter  I  mentioned  that  a  number  of  Italians  and 
Spaniards  return  to  their  own  countries.  The 
migrated  Latin  always  finds  the  old  country  pulling 
at  his  heart-strings — a  feeling,  however,  which 
completely  disappears  in  succeeding  generations. 
But  the  immigrants  who  go  to  Argentina  to  make 
money  rather  than  to  settle  are  inclined  to  be  reck- 
less concerning  care  for  the  soil.  The  rough-and- 
ready,  haphazard,  careless  farming  is,  of  course, 
understandable  in  a  new  and  fertile  country.  Only 
the  passage  of  years  and  closer  settlement,  and  there- 
fore more  careful  culture,  will  tend  to  put  things 
right. 

The  average  production  of  wheat  in  Argentina 
is  only  11.8  bushels  per  acre,  which  is  about  the 
same  as  Australia.  Canada  does  better  than  that, 
for  Manitoba  can  give  13|  bushels  to  the  acre  and 
Saskatchewan  17  bushels.  In  England  the  yield 
to-day  is  30  bushels.  Germany  has  the  same  return, 
whilst  Roumania  has  23  bushels  and  France  20  bushels 
to  the  acre.  There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that 
with  improved  conditions  of  cultivation  Argentina 
can  do  much  better  than  she  is  doing.  The  United 
Kingdom  is  now  purchasing  over  £30,000,000  worth 
of  foodstuffs  a  year  from  the  Argentine.  Indeed, 
the  Republic  supplies  us  with  a  quarter  of  the  food 

N 


194        THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

we  purchase  from  abroad.  In  cereals  alone  we 
purchased  in  1912  from  Argentina  619,000  tons  of 
wheat,  592,000  tons  of  maize,  60,000  tons  of  linseed 
and  883,000  tons  of  oats. 

Mr.  C.  P.  Ogilvie,  one  of  the  most  astute  author- 
ities on  the  development  of  Argentina,  and  whom 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  in  Buenos  Aires,  has 
demonstrated  how  the  growing  of  alfalfa  is  useful 
for  resting  the  land  after  crops  of  wheat,  maize,  etc. 
I  have  already  told  of  the  way  this  sanfoin  plant  has 
the  property  of  attaching  to  itself  micro-organisms 
which  draw  the  nitrogen  in  the  air  and  make  it  avail- 
able for  plant  food.  Every  colonist  knows  the  value 
of  alfalfa  for  feeding  his  cattle,  says  Mr.  Ogilive, 
but  it  is  not  every  colonist  who  knows  why  this 
plant  occupies  such  a  high  place  amongst  feeding 
stuffs.  Alfalfa  is  easily  grown,  very  strong  when 
established,  and,  provided  its  roots  can  get  to  water, 
will  go  on  growing  for  years.  The  raison  d'itre  for 
growing  alfalfa  is  the  feeding  of  cattle  and  pre- 
paring them  for  market,  and  for  this  purpose  a 
league  of  alfalfa  (6,177  acres  metric  measurement) 
will  carry  on  an  average  3,500  head.  When  grown 
for  dry  fodder  it  produces  three  or  four  crops  per 
annum,  and  a  fair  yield  is  from  six  to  eight  tons 
per  acre  of  dry  alfalfa  for  each  year.  A  ton  of  such 
hay  is  worth  about  twenty  to  thirty  dollars,  and,  after 
deducting  expenses,  there  is  a  clear  return  of  about 
fourteen  dollars  per  acre.  The  figures  supplied  by 
one  large  company  show  that  on  an  average  cattle, 
when  placed  upon  alfalfa  lands,  improve  in  value 


THE   FUTURE  OF  AGRICULTURE    195 

at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  per  head  per  month,  so 
it  is  easy  to  place  a  value  upon  its  feeding  properties. 
Thus,  Mr.  Ogilvie  proceeds,  we  will  take  a  camp 
under  alfalfa  capable  of  carrying  10,000  head  of 
cattle  all  the  year  round,  where,  as  the  fattened 
animals  are  sold  off,  an  equal  number  is  bought 
to  replace  them.  Such  a  camp  would  bring  in  a 
clear  profit  of  200,000  dollars  sterling.  An  animal 
that  has  been  kept  all  its  life  on  a  rough  camp,  and 
when  too  old  for  breeding  is  placed  for  the  first  time 
on  alfalfa  lands,  fattens  extremely  quickly,  and  the. 
meat  is  tender  and  in  quality  compares  favourably 
with  any  other  beef.  No  business  in  Argentina  of 
the  same  importance  has  shown  such  good  returns 
as  cattle  breeding,  and  these  results  have  been 
chiefly  brought  about  by  the  introduction  of  alfalfa, 
and  a  knowledge  of  the  life  history  of  alfalfa  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  the  cattle  farmer.  All 
cereal  crops  take  from  the  soil  mineral  matter  and 
nitrogen.  Therefore,  after  continuous  cropping,  the 
land  becomes  exhausted,  and  generally  poorer. 
Experience  has  taught  us  that  rotation  of  crops  is 
a  necessity  to  alleviate  the  strain  on  the  soil.  .  .  . 
If  soils  were  composed  of  nothing  but  pure  silica 
sand,  nothing  would  ever  grow ;  but  in  Nature 
we  find  that  soils  contain  all  sorts  of  mineral  matter, 
and  chief  among  these  is  lime.  Alfalfa  thrives  on 
land  which  contains  lime,  and  gives  but  poor  results 
where  this  ingredient  is  deficient.  The  explanation 
is  simple.  There  is  a  community  of  interest  between 
the  very  low  microscopic  animal  life  known  as  bac- 


196         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

teria  and  plant  life  generally.  In  every  ounce  of 
soil  there  are  millions  of  these  living  germs,  which 
have  their  allotted  work  to  do,  and  they  thrive  best 
in  soils  containing  lime.  If  one  takes  up  with  great 
care  a  root  of  alfalfa,  and  care  is  taken  in  exposing 
the  root,  some  small  nodules  attached  to  the  fine 
hair-hke  roots  are  easily  distinguished  by  the  naked 
eye,  and  these  nodules  are  the  home  of  a  teeming 
microscopic  industrious  population,  who  perform 
their  allotted  work  with  the  silent  persistent  energy 
so  often  displayed  in  Nature.  Men  of  science  have 
been  able  to  identify  at  least  three  classes  of  these 
bacteria,  and  to  ascertain  the  work  accomplished 
by  each.  The  reason  for  their  existence  would  seem 
to  be  that  one  class  is  able  to  convert  the  nitrogen 
in  the  air  into  ammonia,  whilst  others  work  it  into 
nitrate,  and  the  third  class  so  manipulate  it  as  to 
form  a  nitrate  which  is  capable  of  being  used  for 
plant  food.  Now,  although  one  ton  of  alfalfa  re- 
moves from  the  soil  50  lb.  of  nitrogen,  yet  that 
crop  leaves  the  soil  richer  in  nitrogen,  because  the 
alfalfa  has  encouraged  the  multiplication  of  those 
factories  which  convert  some  of  the  thousands  of 
tons  of  nitrogen  floating  above  the  earth  into  sub- 
stance suitable  for  food  for  plant  life.  As  a  dry 
fodder  for  cattle,  three  tons  of  alfalfa  has  as  much 
nutrition  as  two  tons  of  wheat. 

The  cost  of  growing  alfalfa  depends  largely  on 
the  situation  of  the  land,  and  whether  labour  is 
plentiful.  But,  says  Mr.  Ogilvie,  we  will  imagine 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  undeveloped  land  to  be 


THE  FUTURE  OF  AGRICULTURE    197 

£4,000,  upon  which,  under  existing  conditions,  it 
would  be  possible  to  keep  1,000  head  of  animals, 
whereas  if  this  same  land  were  under  alfalfa  3,000 
to  3,500  animals  could  be  fattened  thereon,  and 
the  land  would  have  increased  in  value  to  £20,000 
or  £30,000.  To  improve  the  undeveloped  land  it 
must  be  worked,  and  the  plan  usually  adopted  is 
to  let  the  land  to  colonists  who  have  had  experi- 
ence in  the  class  of  work.  Colonists  usually  under- 
take to  cultivate  500  to  600  acres.  They  pay  to 
the  landlord  anything  from  10  per  cent,  to  80  per 
cent,  of  the  crops,  according  to  distance  of  the  land 
from  the  railway.  The  first  crop  grown  on  fresh 
broken  soil  is  generally  maize.  The  second  year's 
crop  linseed,  and  probably  a  third  year's  crop  of 
wheat  is  grown  before  handing  back  the  land  to 
the  owner,  ready  to  be  put  down  in  alfalfa.  Some- 
times the  alfalfa  is  sown  with  the  colonist's  last 
crop,  the  landlord  finding  the  alfalfa  seed.  After 
the  completion  of  the  contract  the  colonist  moves 
to  another  part.  The  owner,  who  has  annually 
received  a  percentage  of  the  crops,  takes  back  his 
land.  Fences  now  will  necessitate  a  considerable 
outlay,  also  wells  and  buildings.  The  more  of  these 
the  better,  as  the  land  will  carry  a  larger  head  of 
cattle,  and  the  camp  being  properly  divided  makes 
the  control  of  the  cattle  easy.* 

Allowing    for    the    disadvantages — stretches    of 
drought,  pests  of  locusts — I  know  of  no  new  country 

♦  Extracted  from  "  Argentina  from  a  British  Point  of  View,"  by 
C.  P.  Ogilvie  (1910). 


igS         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

balancing  one  thing  with  another,  where  the  future 
is  so  bright.  Given  a  good  year,  an  Argentine  farmer 
makes  80  per  cent,  on  his  invested  capital.  He 
thinks  he  is  doing  fairly  well  if  he  gets  20  per  cent. 
He  grumbles  if  his  return  is  only  10  per  cent.  He 
can  afford  to  have  one  bad  year  in  three — I  believe 
the  average  works  out  one  in  five — and  yet  be  doing 
very  well  compared  with  farmers  in  some  other  parts 
of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

MENDOZA 

If  I  were  called  upon  to  make  my  personal  choice 
in  which  part  of  the  Republic  I  would  like  to  live, 
I  would  choose  Mendoza — or  at  any  rate  some  part 
of  Mendoza  province.  It  lies  far  west,  within  the 
shadow  of  the  snow-crowned  Andes.  The  glacier- 
fed  rivers  from  the  mountains  are  making  it  one 
of  the  biggest  vineyards  in  the  world.  The  city  is 
several  thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  and  the  air 
is  clear  and  invigorating.  Like  most  Spanish- 
Argentine  towns,  it  has  a  long  history,  but  its  tale 
of  abounding  progress  does  not  stretch  beyond  the 
last  seven  or  eight  years.  There  are  over  a  quarter 
of  a  million  people  in  the  province,  and  the  capital 
numbers  nearly  70,000  of  them. 

It  is  the  old  story  of  "  Go  west,  my  son."  When- 
ever I  fell  into  praise  about  places  in  the  east,  or 
in  the  middle  parts  of  the  country,  there  was  gener- 
ally somebody  at  my  elbow  to  whisper,  "  Ah,  but 
wait  till  you  get  to  Mendoza." 

Hardened  traveller  though  I  am,  I  admit  a 
little  thrill  of  anticipation  when,  after  a  hot  and 
rather  dusty  day  in  the  railway  cars,  I  first  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  gleaming  Cordillera,  and  then  ran 
long  miles  through  flourishing  vineyards.     So  right 

199 


200        THE  AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

into  the  heart  of  the  town  of  luxuriant  avenues, 
through  the  main  street  it  seemed,  with  tall  poplar 
trees  on  either  side,  and  beyond  the  cool  road  rows 
of  picturesque  but  modest  houses,  white  washed, 
blue  washed,  pink  washed,  and  even  with  a  touch  of 
quaintness  about  the  houses  that  seemed  to  be 
neglected.  Thus  I  made  acquaintance  with  a  city 
of  broad  boulevards  and  fine  squares,  an  extensive 
park,  and  announcing  its  prosperity  to  all  who  pass 
that  way  and  have  eyes  to  see. 

But  whilst  there  is  much  to  be  enthusiastic  about, 
it  is  well  not  to  let  enthusiasm  run  away  with  one. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  raw  west  about  the  people. 
The  ladies  were  as  well  dressed  as  those  you  will 
see  in  the  Rue  de  la  Paix.  Then  I  was  reminded 
that  every  woman  out  here  dresses  as  well  as  she 
knows  how,  even  though  she  and  her  family  live 
sparsely  at  home.  People  judge  their  fellows  by 
appearance,  by  show,  and  everyone  feels  it  a  duty 
to  be  ostentatious.  Next  I  was  impressed  with 
the  extraordinary  number  of  motor-cars.  "  Yes," 
remarked  my  Mendoza-English  friend,  "  but  I  think 
there  is  only  half  the  number  now  that  there  were 
a  couple  of  years  ago.  You  had  to  own  a  motor- 
car, or  you  were  not  considered  worth  knowing. 
We  had  nearly  three  hundred  motor-cars,  the  best 
the  United  States  or  France  could  supply,  and  their 
value  ran  into  millions  of  dollars.  People  had  them 
with  little  prospect  of  paying  for  them.  But  then, 
everybody  is  optimistic,  expecting  a  pot  of  money 
to  be  coming  along  soon.    There  is  lots  of  money. 


MENDOZA  201 

but  some  folks  did  «not  get  what  they  expected,  and  so 
a  great  many  of  the  cars  have  been  seized  for  debt." 

We  were  making  a  little  tour  in  a  car.  Most  of 
the  houses  are  single- storied  as  a  provision  against 
earthquakes,  which  are  not  infrequent  in  these  parts. 
Indeed,  one  morning  during  my  stay,  whilst  I  was 
shaving,  there  was  a  quiver  and  a  jolt  which  I  thought 
was  due  to  some  heavily  laden  train  passing.  At 
breakfast  I  learnt  there  had  been  a  respectable 
earthquake.  Everybody  tells  you  about  the  great 
earthquake  of  1861,  which  completely  destroyed  old 
Mendoza.  The  only  remaining  evidences  are  the 
ruins  of  the  cathedral.  T  e  population  of  the  city 
at  that  time  was  20,000,  and  I  was  told  that  half 
the  population  was  killed.  Then  there  was  the  agony 
of  fire,  and — with  horror  piled  on  horror,  as  those 
were  lawless  days — bands  of  miscreants  began  plunder- 
ing and  murdering  the  affrighted  inhabitants  who 
remained.  Tremors  are  now  frequent,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  another  earthquake  is  like  an  abiding  night- 
mare. That  is  why  the  streets  are  so  wide,  the 
houses  nearly  all  of  a  single  story,  and  made  of  a 
particularly  light  brick  with  a  considerable  admix- 
ture of  cane  amongst  the  clay,  so  that  the  structure 
has  a  springiness  and  does  not  crack  when  the  shake 
comes.  Really  the  only  big  and  substantial  build- 
ings are  the  Legislature  and  the  Palace  of  Justice, 
and  they  are  imposing. 

Mendoza  continually  reminded  me  of  Salt  Lake 
City.  Like  the  capital  of  the  Mormon  faith,  it  is 
in  the  lee  of  a  mighty  mountain  range;    there  are 


202         THE   AMAZING  ARGENTINE 

trees  bordering  most  of  the  streets,  and  along  the 
main  ways  are  innumerable  rivulets.  Boys  are  con- 
stantly employed  to  souse  the  road  with  water  and 
so  keep  it  cool.  The  entrance  to  Western  Park 
has  exquisite  bronze  gates.  It  is  rather  surprising, 
however,  to  see  they  are  mounted  with  imperial 
crowns.  The  explanation  is  that  they  were  originally 
made  for  Abdul  Hamid,  the  deposed  Sultan  of 
Turkey.  Owing  to  political  upheaval  in  Turkey 
they  were  never  delivered,  because  there  was  no 
one  prepared  to  pay  for  them.  Mendoza  made  a 
bid  and  bought  them  for  £5,000.  Broad  roads 
through  this  lovely  domain,  leading  through  avenues 
of  trees  and  past  radiant  flower  gardens,  make  the 
Western  Park  beloved  of  Mendozians.  There  is  a 
band-stand ;  and  on  Thursday  evenings,  the  whole 
place  flashing  with  electric  light,  the  road  is  blocked 
with  automobiles  and  carriages,  and  thousands  of 
people  listening  to  the  music.  There  is  a  rustic 
chalet  where  people  can  sit  and  have  refreshment. 
There  is  a  lake  nearly  a  mile  long.  Here  take  place 
boating  races,  and  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
spectators  there  is  a  grand  stand  which  can  hold 
3,000  persons.  There  is  a  zoological  garden.  There 
is  what  is  called  "  The  Lilliputian  Railway,"  so  that 
a  tiny  little  train  starting  from  a  miniature  station 
can  take  passengers  all  over  the  extensive  park, 
through  tropical  vegetation,  up  tiny  valleys,  diving 
through  small  tunnels,  giving  anybody  who  cannot 
provide  a  private  carriage  an  easy  and  cheap  means 
of  seeing  the  park. 


MENDOZA  203 

Mendoza  occupies  a  prominent  place  amongst 
the  cities  of  Argentina.  It  is  a  magnet  of  attraction, 
especially  to  Italians  who  have  experience  in  wine 
making ;  and  now  every  year  the  province  receives 
something  over  fifteen  thousand  immigrants.  Some 
freshly  developed  countries  have  a  law  that  no 
immigrant  shall  enter  under  "  contract,"  that  no 
man  shall  (without  special  permission)  be  allowed 
to  land  if  he  has  a  job  and  a  definite  wage  awaiting 
him.  There  is  no  such  regulation  in  Argentina. 
There  is  an  Immigration  Law  under  which  fres!. 
arrivals  are  housed  and  fed  by  the  Government, 
and  work  found  for  them.  But  less  than  half  come 
within  the  operation  of  the  law.  About  150,000 
fresh  arrivals  every  year  come  out  to  situations,  or 
have  sufficient  money  to  look  after  their  own  interests, 
and  naturally  many  of  these  strike  far  west  to 
Mendoza. 

As  I  have  intimated  in  an  earlier  chapter,  the 
Federal  Government  has  occasionally  a  little  diF- 
culty  owing  to  the  independent  spirit  of  provinces 
like  Mendoza.  Mendoza,  for  instance,  has  its  own 
paper  money,  so  that  whilst  the  Federal  dollars  are 
acceptable  in  the  province,  the  Mendozian  dollars 
are  not  currency  beyond  its  own  borders.  It  has 
all  the  modern  equipment  of  government :  a  House 
of  Senators  and  a  House  of  Deputies.  Each  eight 
thousand  inhabitants  are  entitled  to  a  deputy,  and 
each  department  or  county  returns  one  senator. 
The  trouble  of  some  democratic  lands,  strikes,  are 
prohibited,  and  if  attempted  the  soldiers  are  called 


204        THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

out.  The  Governor  is  elected  for  four  years.  Voting 
is  obligatory,  and  if  a  man  will  not  vote  he  is  put 
in  prison.  The  State  has  full  legal  equipment  in 
one  supreme  court,  two  courts  of  appeal,  and  two 
criminal  courts.  Whilst  there  is  a  public  prosecutor 
there  is  a  State  lawyer,  whose  business  it  is  to  defend 
the  poor,  and  another  to  defend  minors  when  they 
come  within  reach  of  the  arm  of  the  law.  Taxes  are 
not  high.  There  is  a  considerable  amount  of  Govern- 
ment land,  and  this  is  sold  in  order  to  raise  money 
for  public  works.  Of  course,  there  is  the  usual  boom 
in  land  values.  In  1909  the  estimated  value  of  pro- 
perty in  the  province  (vineyards,  orchards,  culti- 
vated and  uncultivated  land,  and  buildings)  was  a 
little  over  £50,000,000.  Up  to  July  31st,  1913, 
property  had  increased  in  value  to  well  over 
£70,000,000.  This  is  creditable  for  a  population 
of  260,000. 

In  no  other  province  in  the  Republic  has  there 
been  so  much  land  sold  as  in  Mendoza.  From 
1909  to  1912  inclusive  transactions  in  land  repre- 
sented a  turnover  of  £37,000,000.  In  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Mendoza  City  land  is  as  dear  as  close 
to  Buenos  Aires,  rising  to  £2  a  metre  (3.28  feet). 
In  1909  193,061  hectares  (hectare  =  2.47  acres)  was 
under  cultivation.  Now  there  are  330,000  hectares. 
Development  is  not  restricted  to  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  provincial  capital.  Take  San  Juan,  in  the 
north,  an  old  town  which  jogged  along  with  viti- 
culture till  ten  years  ago,  when  it  made  a  bound, 
and  progress  in  growing  grapes  has  been  consider- 


MENDOZA  205 

able.  Some  six  hours  by  rail  south-east  of  Mendoza 
is  San  Rafael.  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  only 
flourishing  product  was  the  Indian;  and  you  could 
have  bought  quantities  of  land  at  twopence  a  hectare. 
To-day  ordinary  uncultivated  land  with  water  rights 
is  worth  from  £140  to  £160  per  hectare.  Cultivated 
vineyards  are  worth  from  £600  to  £650  per  hectare, 
according  to  class.  Till  1903  San  Rafael  had  no 
railway  connection  with  anywhere.  The  journey 
to  Mendoza,  which  is  now  done  in  half  a  dozen 
hours  by  train,  then  took  eight  days  by  cart.  Rail- 
way building  has  facilitated  the  development  of  the 
San  Rafael  district,  which  is  just  at  the  doorway 
of  its  prosperity.  The  San  Rafael  grape  has  a  richer 
colour  and  more  sugar  than  the  Mendoza  grape. 
If  I  had  a  large  sum  to  invest  I  think  I  would  take 
my  chances  at  San  Rafael. 

Now,  whilst  there  is  all  this  material  progress, 
it  was  refreshing  to  note  that  care  is  given  to  other 
things  than  just  money  making.  I  have  described 
the  constant  movement  to  beautify  Mendoza.  Edu- 
cation is  carefully  nurtured.  In  the  province  are 
(1913)  two  national  high-grade  colleges,  two  normal 
schools,  twenty-five  private  schools,  and  one  kinder- 
garten. This  kindergarten  is,  so  far  as  my  knowledge 
goes,  unmatched  in  the  world.  It  was  not  the  size 
that  impressed  me,  but  the  thought-out  plans  to 
provide  everything  to  attract  and  stimulate  the 
young  intelligence.  Beauty  is  the  basis,  not  only 
in  the  schoolrooms  but  in  the  theatre  and  play- 
grounds.   Whether  it  be  a  school,  or  a  fire-station, 


206         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

or  a  penitentiary,  expenditure  is  lavish  in  providing 
a  handsome  building.  Of  course  ambition,  rivalry, 
town  conceit — ^the  desire  to  show  something  better 
than  another  town  can  show — is  behind  much  of  the 
enterprise.  But  the  result  is  there,  and  it  is  the 
fact  that  counts. 

Primarily,  this  abounding  fortune  of  Mendoza  is 
due  to  its  vineyards.  I  read  in  an  official  publication 
that  the  province  has  the  finest  soil  in  the  Republic. 
That  is  incorrect ;  but  it  has  a  soil  that  '">  pecu- 
liarly adapted  for  vines,  together  with  a  climate 
and  a  situation  which  for  viticulture  could  not  be 
improved — ^though  there  is  a  fly  in  the  ointment, 
of  which  more  anon.  Besides,  the  inhabitants  have 
not  had  to  grope  their  way  in  the  growing  of  grapes 
and  the  making  of  wine,  as  has  been  the  case  in 
many  instances  in  California  and  South  Australia, 
good  though  some  of  the  wines  are,  through  the 
cultivators  coming  from  lands  where  the  grape 
industry  is  not  natural.  It  may  be  fairly  said  that 
all  the  folk  in  the  province  engaged  in  viticulture 
are  from  the  wine-growing  regions  of  Italy  and 
Spain.  Further,  wine  has  been  made  in  this  region 
for  several  hundreds  of  years,  though  in  the  absence 
of  transport  its  consumption  was  purely  local.  Now 
it  is  drunk  throughout  the  Republic. 

Neither  the  Californians  nor  the  Australians  are 
a  wine-drinking  people.  Wine  producers  have  to 
look  to  markets  beyond  the  seas.  Not  so  the  Men- 
dozians.  The  Argentines,  being  Latin,  are  a  wine- 
drinking    people.     Everybody    drinks    wine.     The 


MENDOZA  207 

labourer  on  the  railway  has  wine  with  his  frugal 
lunch.  It  is  not  at  all  unusual  for  children  to  have 
watered  wine  with  their  meals.  On  the  big  emigrant 
ships  wine  is  included  in  the  charge  for  fare  and 
food. 

Well,  here  is  a  wine-drinking  population  of 
7,000,000  living  next  door  to  the  vineyards.  There- 
fore the  market  for  wine  is  enormous.  Great  though 
the  output  is,  it  does  not  meet  the  demand.  As 
a  consequence  scant  justice,  from  a  connoisseur's 
point  of  view,  is  done  to  the  Argentine  wine,  for 
it  never  has  an  opportunity  to  mature.  Again,  the 
wine  is  cheap ;  and  it  would  never  suit  the  wealthy 
Argentines  if  they  were  seen  drinking  anything  but 
expensive  foreign  wine.  I  did  taste  some  wine  with 
delightful  bouquet,  such  as  that  of  the  Ch&teau 
Norton ;  but,  as  it  is  the  crowd  which  drinks  the 
wine,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  average  quality  of 
native  produce  is  high.  With  such  piled-up  orders 
for  quantity,  growers  have  not  bothered  very  much 
about  quality.  They  told  me  that  sometimes  they 
have  felt  rather  ashamed  to  send  out  wine  sour 
with  youth;  yet  the  dealers  must  have  it.  More 
than  once  the  railway  companies  have  been  congested 
with  barrels  ready  to  be  taken  east.  There  are 
millions  of  acres,  as  yet  untouched,  suitable  for  vines. 

When  one  thinks  of  the  people  in  South  America, 
and  of  the  prospective  expansion  of  population,  all 
wine-drinkers,  one  must  conclude  that  the  future  of 
this  land,  amongst  the  foothills  of  the  Andes,  is  very 
bright.     In  the  turn  of  time  some  rich  Argentines 


2o8         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

will  set  the  fashion  of  drinking  the  wine  of  their 
own  country.  That  will  call  for  the  production  of 
a  better  vintage,  and  then,  very  likely,  Argentine 
wines  will  be  introduced  to  the  other  markets  of 
the  world.  As  it  is,  fortunes  are  being  rapidly  made. 
Many  of  the  vineyards  are  quite  small.  Two  and  a 
half  acres  (one  hectare)  will  grow  between  three  and 
four  hundredweight  of  grapes,  which  can  be  looked 
after  by  one  man,  and  ought,  in  an  ordinary  season, 
to  yield  an  income  of  about  £100.  A  family  with  a 
small  holding  of  four  or  five  hectares  can  live  most 
comfortably.  In  1913  the  province  produced 
592,969,670  kilos  (kilo  =  2.20  lb.).  Of  this  399,517,099 
litres  of  wine  were  elaborated  (litre  =  0.22  gallon). 

Now  I  have  mentioned  there  is  a  fly  in  the  oint- 
ment, and  I  should  not  be  doing  my  duty  if  I  failed 
to  call  attention  to  it.  The  soil  is  there,  the  climate 
is  there,  grapes  are  carefully  acclimatised.  But  there 
must  be  water,  and  whether  there  will  always  be  a 
sufficiency  of  this  is  a  doubt  which  sometimes  comes 
into  the  minds  of  men  who  glance  ahead.  The 
rainfall  is  not  heavy.  Various  scientific  experiments 
have  been  made  to  attract  rain,  but  without  much 
success.  The  principal  supply  is  from  the  River 
Mendoza,  fed  by  the  melting  of  the  snows  in  the 
mountains.  At  first  the  wine  growers  helped  them- 
selves to  what  water  they  desired.  But  as  the 
industry  developed,  and  as  there  was  suitable  land 
without  water,  irrigation  canals  were  introduced. 
Sometimes  a  man  tapped  water  to  which  he  was 
not   entitled,    and   then   there   was   trouble.    As   a 


MENDOZA  209 

consequence,  the  Government  has  boldly  grappled 
with  the  problem  of  irrigation.  I  drove  out  about 
a  dozen  miles  to  inspect  a  weir  which  had  been 
constructed  across  the  Mendoza  River.  This  holds 
back  an  immense  quantity  of  water,  and  the  supply 
is  regulated  by  the  weir  gates.  Irrigation  channels 
zigzag  across  the  country,  and  the  cultivator  pays 
a  small  sum  for  his  supply.  These  works  fertilise 
over  a  million  acres  of  land.  Irrigated  land  has 
bounced  in  value.  Waterless  land  which  could  have 
been  obtained  for  £l  a  hectare  now  fetches  twenty, 
or  even  thirty  times  as  much.  This  has  emboldened 
the  Government  into  making  contracts  for  several 
million  dollars  for  the  damming  of  smaller  rivers, 
and  providing  further  irrigation  works.  Still,  there 
is  much  water  which  goes  down  the  River  Mendoza 
that  is  not  used  at  all.  I  asked  a  man  who  has  the 
right  to  speak  as  an  authority  how  much  country 
could  be  placed  under  viticulture  if  all  the  avail- 
able water  supply  was  nursed  and  utilised.  He  told 
me  three  times  as  much  as  at  present.  So,  although 
there  is  a  big  difficulty  ahead,  it  is  so  far  distant 
that  the  average  man  of  the  present  generation  does 
not  bother  his  head  much  about  it. 

There  are  just  878  bodegas  in  Mendoza,  though 
800  of  them  are  comparatively  small.  I  went  over 
two  of  the  biggest  and  found  them  equipped  as 
well  as  the  bodegas  of  Europe.  Some  of  the  vats 
hold  tens  of  thousands  of  litres  of  wine.  Modern 
vats  are  built  of  cement  lined  with  glass,  and  one 
of  them  will  hold  over  100,000  litres.  But  what 
0 


210         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

was  annoying — it  is  exercised  elsewhere — was  the 
practice  of  giving  a  well-known  name  to  a  wine 
which  it  does  not  properly  represent.  There  is 
nothing  so  delicate  as  the  grape  in  being  affected 
by  soil.  Similar  vines,  but  grown  on  slightly  dis- 
similar soil,  produce  a  different  quality  of  grape, 
and  give  quite  a  different  flavour  to  the  wine.  So, 
generally  speaking,  the  wine  of  Argentina  has  a 
different  tone  from  that  of  France,  Italy,  or  Spain. 
The  vintners  endeavour  by  blending  to  produce  a 
European  type,  a  hock,  a  moselle,  a  burgundy,  a 
medoc,  a  bordeaux,  even  a  champagne — which,  though 
good  wines,  are  not  always  good  imitations  of  some- 
thing else.  It  would  be  much  better  if  they  classified 
and  titled  their  own  wines.  The  European  plan  of 
one  type  of  wine  being  produced  in  one  particular 
district  is  ignored.  Therefore  you  will  find  the  big 
bodega  producing  from  grapes  grown  in  one  vineyard 
a  dozen  brands  which  originated  in  France,  Ger- 
many, Spain,  Italy,  and  Portugal. 

It  might  be  thought  that  in  Mendoza,  where  wine 
is  the  cheapest  beverage  procurable  except  water, 
there  would  be  drunkenness.  Not  at  all.  Perhaps 
the  case  of  the  people  is  like  that  of  the  girls  in 
confectionery  shops ;  there  are  so  many  sweets 
about  they  never  think  of  making  themselves  ill. 
Now  and  then,  however,  there  is  a  relapse.  But  a 
Mendozian  "  drunk  "  is  not  fined  and  sent  to  prison. 
Armed  with  a  pail,  he  has  to  give  two  or  three  days 
to  getting  water  out  of  the  rivulets  which  run  down 
the  sides  of  the  main  streets,   and  sprinkling  the 


MENDOZA  211 

dusty  road  with  it.  This  is  work  usually  given  to 
boys.  So  when  you  see  a  disgruntled  man  engaged 
at  it  you  will  be  quite  right  in  coming  to  the  con- 
clusion he  has  been  imbibing,  and  the  authorities 
have  put  him  to  this  job  to  disgrace  him. 

I  have  dealt  rather  fully  with  the  wine-making 
business  because  it  is  the  chief  source  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  Mendoza's  prosperity.  But  it  is  a  happy 
country  for  other  kinds  of  fruit,  particularly  the 
peach.  Also  there  are  oranges,  figs,  quinces,  nec- 
tarines, and  cherries.  Several  fruit  canning 
concerns,  turning  out  many  thousand  tins  of  fruit 
a  day,  have  sprung  into  existence  and  are  doing 
well.  Abundance  of  fruit  has  been  rather  a  cause 
of  neglect  in  rearing,  so  that  I  do  not  place  the 
quality  too  high.  For  instance,  the  oranges  are  not 
within  measurable  distance  of  the  splendid  oranges 
which  New  South  Wales  grows.  Improvement  will 
assuredly  come  in  time.  As  it  is,  the  fruit  season 
in  Argentina  is  when  it  is  raw  winter  in  Europe ; 
and,  as  transport  is  quickening,  possibilities  of  an 
extended  market  are  great.  Sometimes  I  hear 
young  Englishmen,  discontented  with  home,  say 
they  would  like  to  go  to  America  and  start  fruit 
farming.  They  might  inquire  into  the  prospects 
of  Mendoza. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A  TRIP   INTO   THE   ANDES 

It  was  intended  to  be  a  jolly  party.  We  were  going 
to  Puerta  del  Inca  and  to  make  a  picnic  of  it.  There 
was  the  Englishman,  born  in  Australia,  trained  in 
the  United  States  and  now  an  engineering  expert  in 
Argentina.  He  was  the  biggest  man  I  met  in  the 
Republic,  and  his  friends  called  him  "  Chico,"  which 
means  the  little  one.  There  was  the  Scot,  grizzled  and 
cautious,  who  disappeared  for  months  and  was  away 
exploring  the  unknown  mountains  up  in  the  snows, 
carrying  his  camp  with  him,  never  seeing  anybody 
with  whom  he  could  converse,  coming  back  with 
maps  of  possible  new  routes  over  the  frozen  shoulders 
of  the  Andes,  and  who  loved  long  hours  in  the  English 
Club  in  Mendoza,  expressing  Carlylean  views  about 
the  world,  quoting  poetry  and  enjoying  long  games 
at  cards.  There  was  the  man  who  came  out  here 
from  England  many  years  ago  to  help  in  the  building 
of  the  Transandine  railway,  married  a  Spanish  wife, 
has  taken  to  vine  growing,  and  knows  he  now  speaks 
his  native  tongue  with  a  foreign  accent.  There  were 
others,  men  who  had  knocked  about  the  world  and 
had  done  things ;  men  with  none  of  the  light  talk 
of  stay-at-home  Englishmen,  but  showing  strong 
character  kneaded  by  rough  circumstances. 

313 


"CHICO"    IN    CHARGE. 


A    CORNER    OF    THE    ENGLISH    CLUB    AT    MENDOZA. 


A  TRIP  INTO  THE  ANDES  213 

The  trip  was  arranged  amongst  the  orange  trees 
which  grow  in  the  little  courtyard  of  the  English 
Club.  It  was  when  the  night  was  warm  and  we 
stretched  in  easy  chairs,  puffing  smoke  rings  at  the 
moon.  "  Chico  "  was  master  of  ceremonies.  What 
he  arranged  was  to  be  right.  And  we  were  to  be 
ready  early  the  next  morning,  for  a  special  coach  was 
to  be  fastened  to  the  express  coming  through  from 
Buenos  Aires  on  its  way  to  Valparaiso. 

The  early  morning  air  was  crisp  and  invigorating. 
The  transcontinental  train  had  just  come  in,  and 
whilst  the  early  birds  were  out  on  the  platform,  half- 
drawn  blinds  revealed  the  drowsy  countenances  of 
other  travellers  who  had  no  disposition  for  a  peep 
at  Mendoza,  or  who  had  seen  it  before  and  lacked 
ambition  to  see  it  again.  There  was  the  usual 
jostling  on  the  platform  of  folk  who  had  just  arrived 
and  those  who  were  taking  their  departure,  joyous 
greetings,  and  sad  farewells.  The  stranger  had  to 
stand  on  one  side  and  smile  at  the  way  Argentine 
men  held  one  another  by  one  arm  half  round  the  neck, 
and  with  the  other  hand  gave  continuous  slaps  in  the 
small  of  the  back.  Yesterday  morning's  papers  from 
Buenos  Aires  had  arrived,  and  there  was  a  scramble 
round  the  bookstall  whilst  the  slow-moving  newsboy 
undid  the  strings  and  we  could  buy  our  newspapers, 
and  were  able  to  read  what  the  Prime  Minister  of 
England  had  been  saying  the  day  before  yesterday. 

"  Chico,"  with  hat  stuck  on  the  back  of  his  head, 
hastened  up  to  our  group  with  the  intimation  that 
we  had  better  get  on  board  if  it  was  not  our  intention 


ai4         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

to  be  left  behind.  "  Have  you  got  plenty  of  food," 
wOvS  the  inquiry,  "  for  we  are  as  hungry  as  hunters  ?  " 
"  Yes,  plenty,"  was  the  answer.  "  And  drink  ?  " 
"  And  the  drink."  "  You  have  not  forgotten  the 
cigars  ?  "     "  No,  the  cigars  are  all  right." 

Our  car  was  attached  to  the  express.  It  was  a 
long,  narrow  car,  with  a  table  down  the  centre.  We 
were  met  with  the  refreshing  odour  of  ham  and  eggs 
being  prepared  in  the  adjoining  kitchen. 

The  long  train  panted  toward  the  hills,  leaving 
leafy  Mendoza  behind  and  winding  away  through 
aisles  of  great  grey  boulders  by  the  side  of  the  muddy 
Mendoza  River.  There  was  a  dreary  forlornness 
about  the  country  as  the  train,  with  the  river  as  its 
guide,  seemed  to  be  making  for  a  huge  black  cutting 
in  the  mountains.  We  did  not  mind,  for  the  Spanish 
cook  and  his  assistant  were  busy  serving  us  with  ham 
and  eggs,  and  coffee,  and  freshly  baked  rolls. 

Maybe  it  was  the  breakfast,  or  the  exhilarating 
air  of  the  hills,  or  the  genial  company,  or  the  pleasure 
of  the  post-breakfast  cigar  ;  but  we  were  the  merriest 
party  imaginable.  The  engineer  who  had  turned  vine 
grower  became  reminiscent  of  the  days  when  he 
helped  to  build  this  line,  and  of  how,  when  work 
was  over  in  the  evening,  he  frequently  mounted  his 
horse,  rode  twenty  miles  to  attend  a  Spanish  dance, 
mounted  his  horse  again  at  four  in  the  morning,  and 
was  back  at  work  in  the  hills  by  sunrise.  Of  course, 
he  was  quite  sure  that  those  were  romantic  and 
adventurous  days  compared  with  the  present. 

We  were  not  travelling  fast.     The  line  was  gradu- 


A  TRIP  INTO  THE  ANDES  215 

ally  rising,  and  the  engine  was  giving  off  sounds 
as  though  it  were  suffering  from  asthma.  We  got 
into  country — wild,  moorlike,  and  broken  with  many 
streams — which  reminded  some  of  us  of  parts  of 
Scotland.  We  struck  into  what  had  looked  like  a 
black  defile,  through  which  the  river  came  racing, 
and  on  either  side  of  us  rose  gaunt  rocks,  black 
and  brown,  which  suggested  that  a  terrific  fire  had 
once  raged. 

No  snow  was  in  sight — nothing  but  fierce,  repellent 
crags.  Suddenly  we  came  upon  an  upland  valley 
with  a  wide  stretch  of  grass,  a  straggling  village,  and 
a  big  hotel — just  the  sort  of  hotel  you  are  constantly 
bumping  into  in  the  Swiss  mountains.  The  passing 
of  the  train  for  Chili  is  probably  the  one  excitement. 
The  Italian  folk  gathered  about  the  little  station 
and  gazed  with  curious  eyes  at  the  passengers. 

Years  ago  I  went  down  Kicking  Horse  Pass,  in 
the  Canadian  Rockies,  with  a  seat  on  the  "  cow- 
catcher." It  was  now  my  good  fortune  to  ride  on 
the  "  cow-catcher "  of  this  train  bound  for  Val- 
paraiso. As  luck  would  have  it,  I  met  an  American 
and  his  wife  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made  on  the 
Atlantic,  and  to  whom  I  had  bidden  "  good-bye  " 
at  Rio  de  Janeiro.  They  were  now  returning  to  the 
United  States  by  way  of  Chili,  and,  being  of  an 
adventurous  turn  of  mind,  they,  too,  were  eager  to 
enjoy  a  ride  on  the  front  of  the  engine.  Over  the 
"  cow-catcher  "  a  seat  was  fixed,  with  a  brass  rail 
in  front  so  that  there  was  little  danger  of  falling  off. 
We  knew  how  cold  it  would  be  later,  and  so  we  put 


2i6         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

on  our  heaviest  coats  and  wrapped  ourselves  in  our 
thickest  rugs.  We  were  "  in  the  front  row "  to 
obtain  a  view. 

The  way  was  now  increasingly  steep.  It  was 
necessary  to  have  two  engines,  one  in  front  to  pull 
and  one  behind  to  push.  Slowly  we  grunted  on  our 
way.  There  was  a  chill  ping  in  the  air  which  made 
our  cheeks  smart.  We  kept  close  to  the  river,  as 
though  it  were  a  guide  that  we  did  not  intend  to 
allow  to  forsake  us.  Sometimes  we  ran  not  far 
above  the  level  of  the  scouring  waters.  At  other 
times  we  seemed  to  be  running  along  a  high-perched 
ledge  on  the  rock  side,  so  that  when  the  engine  gave 
a  sudden  swerve  round  the  elbow  of  a  hill  there 
was  one  traveller  who  shut  his  eyes  when  he 
thought  what  might  happen  if  the  engine  had 
suddenly  taken  it  into  its  head  to  make  a  leap  into 
the  abyss. 

The  hills  closed  in.  They  towered  above  us  so 
that  there  was  the  sense  of  going  through  a  long 
gully.  At  every  turn  the  engine  shrieked,  and  the 
echoes  reverberated  amongst  the  mountains.  Now 
and  then  we  came  upon  gangmen  engaged  in  the 
repair  of  the  line.  They  jumped  aside  whilst  the 
train  trundled  by. 

Then  came  a  dip,  with  a  great  open,  verdurous 
canon  in  front  of  us.  The  steam  of  the  engine  was 
shut  off,  and  the  train  seemed  to  free-wheel  into 
the  valley.  We  jumped  and  rocked  and  curved  in 
the  most  exciting  way.  There  was  no  protecting 
fence.     We  gave  a  start  when,  swinging  round  the 


A  TRIP  INTO  THE  ANDES  217 

bend,  we  came  across  a  couple  of  scampering  horses. 
We  held  our  breath,  for  it  seemed  certain  we  should 
crush  into  them.  One  animal  gave  a  violent  jump 
amongst  the  adjoining  boulders,  and  then,  when  we 
were  within  a  dozen  yards  of  the  other  horse,  it 
swerved,  and  we  just  missed  hitting  it. 

Again  we  started  climbing.  We  ran  past  tiny- 
stations,  and  on  the  hillsides,  where  there  was  vege- 
tation, we  could  see  little  chalets  and  horses  and 
cattle  about.  Once  we  had  to  cross  a  bridge  very 
slowly,  for  it  was  under  extensive  repair.  The  chief 
engineer  was  a  young  Englishman,  and  he  ran  up 
and  exchanged  a  few  words  with  friends.  We  went 
through  long  black  tunnels,  and  the  experience  was 
eerie,  for  the  engine  shrieked  like  a  maniac  that  was 
being  chased. 

Still  we  kept  fairly  close  to  the  Mendoza  River. 
At  one  spot  the  hills  widened  out  where  a  tributary, 
the  Rio  Blanco,  ran  into  the  main  stream.  At  the 
joining  place  there  was  a  chasm  which  it  would  have 
required  an  enormous  bridge  to  span.  We  avoided 
that  difficulty  by  the  line  running  a  little  distance 
on  one  side  by  the  Rio  Blanco  to  where  the  valley 
narrowed  so  we  could  cross  by  a  small  bridge;  and 
then  the  train  started  going  the  other  way  on  the 
other  side  of  the  fall,  and  proceeded  with  the  Mendoza 
River  on  the  right,  having  dodged  the  chasm  by  a 
sort  of  V-shaped  loop. 

By  the  side  of  the  chasm  was  a  melancholy  little 
cemetery.  There  was  no  grass,  or  trees,  or  flowers ; 
just  a  group  of  uneven  headstones  telling  of  the 


2i8         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

last  resting-place  of  the  men  who  had  died  years 
before  whilst  engaged  in  constructing  the  line. 

We  now  seemed  to  be  running  along  a  scooped- 
out  way  over  a  great  height  of  shingle.  We  knew 
it  was  here  that  some  of  the  hardest  work  was  done 
in  building  the  line.  For  after  the  melting  of  the 
snows  and  the  torrential  rains,  great  masses  of  shingle 
rolled,  breaking  the  line,  and  on  one  occasion  throw- 
ing a  whole  train  and  the  engine  right  into  the 
bottom  of  the  river.  One  felt  that  the  engine  itself 
was  trembling  with  fear  as  it  made  a  path  across  this 
dread  hillside.  It  was  bitterly  cold.  The  wind  cut 
with  icy  blast  upon  us  from  the  precipices.  Higher 
still  we  climbed  to  where  there  was  no  vegetation, 
nothing  but  scarped  rocks  and  strange  shaped  and 
strangely  coloured  mounds,  reminding  us  of  the 
volcanic  origin  of  the  Andes. 

Reaching  another  flat  level  we  ran  into  the 
mountain  station  of  Zanjou  Amarillo.  Here  were 
engine  sheds,  for  it  is  necessary  to  change  the  engine 
at  Ihis  place.  We  dismounted  from  the  "  cow- 
catcher," and,  shivering  with  the  cold,  watched  a 
heavy  black  engine  attached.  From  this  point  until 
the  other  side  of  the  Andes  is  reached  part  of  the  way 
is  covered  by  the  use  of  a  rack  rail.  The  railway  is 
too  steep  for  an  ordinary  engine  to  climb.  Accord- 
ingly, in  the  centre  is  a  third  line  with  cogs.  The 
engine  has  an  extra  wheel  with  cogs,  so  that  it  does 
not  run  but  grips  its  way  to  further  heights. 

The  day  was  bright.  Through  clefts  in  our 
shut-in  way  we  could  see  snow  on  the  mountains. 


-,1^--:^  ^t.V 


A  TRIP  INTO  THE  ANDES  219 

We  travelled  up  a  valley  of  desolation.  We  knew 
that  in  the  old  days  this  was  the  main  road  from 
Chili  into  Argentina,  and  in  places  we  saw  tumbled- 
down  shelter  houses,  now  deserted,  but  of  use  in 
former  times  when  travellers  crossed  the  mountains 
by  mule,  for  always  they  were  provided  with  food 
and  fuel.  There  was  something  wonderfully  fas- 
cinating, crawling  as  it  were  to  the  roof  of  the  world. 
It  was  easy  to  understand  how  superstitious  Indians 
believed  that  evil  spirits  had  their  homes  in  the 
inaccessible  fastnesses.  There  was  no  living  thing 
to  be  seen  anywhere  except  a  couple  of  eagles. 

Gradually  the  panorama  opened.  We  got  a 
glimpse  of  the  snow-covered  heights  in  front  of  us. 
Then  the  brightness  of  the  day  disappeared  ;  the  sun 
was  shrouded ;  there  was  a  weird  wail  in  the  wind. 
A  snowstorm  came  upon  us.  Still  the  engine,  with 
something  almost  human  in  its  determination,  gripped 
the  cogs  and  pulled  us  higher  and  higher  yet.  It 
was  so  cold  we  closed  all  windows  and  put  on  our 
coats,  and  called  for  the  attendant  to  bring  us 
beverages  which  we  expected  would  produce  warmth. 

Midday  arrived  before  we  reached  Puerta  del 
Inca,  which  was  as  far  as  we  intended  going.  We 
had  our  car  detached,  and  waved  our  hands  to 
those  on  the  express  train,  which  soon  disappeared 
amid  the  rushing  snow. 

You  may  take  it  that  the  Incas  never  came  to 
this  part  of  the  world.  That  they  did  is  a  piece  of 
imagination.  The  so-called  "  Bridge  of  the  Incas  " 
is  a  natural  formation.     A  little  river  has  eaten  its 


220         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

way  through  the  hillside,  and  the  tear  and  drip  of 
water  during  untold  centuries  has  formed  a  great 
natural  arch.  The  water  is  volcanic  and  steamy, 
and  has  mineral  qualities  which  stain  the  rocks 
with  strange  colourings. 

Of  course,  the  benefits  of  the  waters  for  rheu- 
matism, and  a  score  of  other  ailments,  have  been 
exploited.  Galleries  have  been  built  under  the  arch, 
bath  chambers  cut  above  the  rock,  and  water  taken 
in  pipes  into  each,  so  that  visitors  may  have  a 
"  cure."  In  the  summer  time  there  are  many  visitors 
to  Puerta  del  Inca  to  gain  benefit  not  only  from 
the  waters,  but  from  the  mountain  air,  and  to  have 
a  pleasant  time  by  excursions  into  the  hills.  There 
is  a  commodious  hotel. 

In  the  winter  time,  when  the  snows  are  heavy, 
two  trains  a  week  are  run  over  to  Chili.  Sometimes 
the  snowfall  is  so  severe  that  the  traffic  is  com- 
pletely blocked,  though  with  the  construction  of 
snow-sheds,  and  fences  to  resist  the  drifting  snow, 
there  is  less  danger  than  formerly.  However,  there 
have  been  times  when  trains  have  been  held  up, 
and  passengers  have  had  to  stay  for  a  week  at  Inca. 
First-class  passengers  fend  for  themselves  at  the  big 
hotel ;  but  down  near  the  railway  station  there  is 
a  great  caravanserai  of  a  place  where  poorer  passengers 
are  provided  with  rough  accommodation,  and  where 
they  can  obtain  food  at  cheap  prices. 

The  snow  had  ceased,  but  there  was  a  knife-like 
wind  whilst  we  battled  up  the  hillside,  making  for 
the  hotel  standing  gaunt  and  solitary  amongst  the 


THE    INCA    BRIDGE    IN    THE    ANDES. 


A  TRIP  INTO  THE  ANDES  221 

barren  mountains.  We  did  not  object  to  the  little 
discomfort.  It  was  delightful  to  get  into  the  warm 
rooms,  to  sit  down  and  have  a  meal,  to  smoke,  to 
chat,  to  play  billiards,  and  some  of  us  to  have  a 
doze.  Then,  in  the  grey  of  the  afternoon,  with 
occasional  gleams  of  sunlight  tlirough  the  heavy 
clouds  which  swathed  the  mountain  tops,  we 
sauntered  about  this  straggling,  high  perched 
village. 

There  was  no  passenger  train  to  Mendoza  that 
day.  But  we  had  arranged  for  an  engine  to  take 
charge  of  our  car  and  run  us  back  in  the  dark.  So 
at  nightfall  we  climbed  once  more  into  the  coach. 
The  stove  was  ablaze  because  the  air  was  increasingly 
cold.  Trains  only  run  along  this  mountain  route  in 
the  daylight,  and  so  perhaps  there  was  a  little  nervous- 
ness in  making  the  journey  down  through  the  valleys 
in  the  blackness.  In  the  front  of  the  engine  was  a 
great  searchlight.  So  we  went  groaning  and  rocking, 
with  the  whistle  of  the  engine  shrieking  in  the  canons, 
on  our  way  back  to  Mendoza.  Once  there  was  a 
violent  jerk  when  the  engine  was  brought  almost 
to  a  standstill,  for  some  cattle  had  strayed  upon  the 
line  and  it  was  with  difficulty  they  were  frightened 
off  the  track. 

We  were  snug  enough  in  our  well-lit  coach,  where 
before  and  after  dinner  the  hours  were  wiled  away 
with  games  of  cards.  Occasionally  we  halted  at 
the  tiny  hamlets,  and  the  residents  ran  out  to  have 
a  look  at  the  unusual  sight  of  an  engine,  with  a  huge 
gleaming  eye  in  front,  picking  its  way,  as  it  were. 


222         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

through  the  ravines,  whilst  behind  was  an  illumin- 
ated car  with  a  party  of  merry  Britishers. 

Once  I  went  on  the  little  platform  at  the  rear 
of  the  coach.  The  whole  world  was  wrapped  in 
blackness.  After  a  time  I  got  used  to  it.  It  was 
possible  to  discern  the  ragged  silhouettes  of  the 
hilltops,  and  to  peer  into  the  Cimmerian  gloom  of 
the  valley  where  the  Mendoza  River  was  hastening 
noisily  toward  the  plain.  No  wonder  the  natives 
had  a  horror  of  these  hills. 

There  was  a  kind  of  crunching  clatter  as  the  en- 
gine ran  over  the  stretch  of  the  line  with  the  cogged 
third  rail.  When  we  reached  less  precipitous  ground 
the  worst  danger  had  passed,  and  the  engine  rattled 
and  bounced  on  her  way.  Down  and  down  we  sank 
till  at  last,  with  a  long-drawn  scream  from  the  engine, 
we  passed  through  the  gates  of  the  hills.  We  piled 
more  coal  on  the  stove,  and  sat  round  smoking  and 
telling  yarns,  and  wondered  when  we  should  all 
have  a  similar  trip  again.  It  was  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning  when  we  got  back  to  Mendoza. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE   CAMP 

"  To  govern  is  to  populate  "  is  the  maxim  which 
has  guided  the  policy  of  the  Argentine  Government 
ever  since  the  first  days  of  political  emancipation. 
The  immense  wealth  of  the  fertile  plains  must  remain 
unappropriated  just  as  long  as  there  is  insufficient 
labour  to  sow  and  reap,  to  tend,  to  feed,  and  shear. 
As  a  result  of  this  policy  the  immigration  organisa- 
tion of  Argentina  may  now  be  regarded  as  the  finest 
in   the   world.     Everything  that   could   possibly   be 
done  to  bring  a  large  number  of  useful  emigrants  to 
the   country   has   been   done,   with   the   result   that 
while  in  1858  the  number  of  immigrants  was  only 
4,658  it  increased  until  in  1913  it  reached  300,000. 
The  increase  has  been  steady  except  in  1888  and  the 
two  following  years,  when  the  figures  were  130,271, 
218,744,  and  77,815  respectively.     These  were  years 
in   which   an   experiment   was   made   with   assisted 
passages,    and   the   result   was  that   the   supply  of 
immigrants  jumped  up  and  soon  exceeded  the  demand. 
The  misery  and  poverty  which  followed  the  arrival 
of  the  too  numerous  thousands  caused  a  reaction. 
Assisted  passages  were  abandoned,  and  in  1891  the 
number  fell  to  28,266.     But  since  that  date  it  has 
risen  steadily  to  its  present  height. 

223 


224         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

The  reason  for  the  great  preponderance  of  ItaUans 
is  that  the  climate  is  more  suitable  to  them  than  to 
those  of  any  more  northern  nationality.  Labour  is 
what  is  needed,  and  for  hard  manual  work  in  an 
almost  tropical  climate,  quite  unsuited  to  English- 
men, Italians  are  not  only  fitted  but  expect  con- 
siderably less  wages  and  a  lower  standard  of  comfort. 
The  best  chances  come  to  those  who  can  speak 
Spanish,  and  this  the  Italians  learn  somewhat  more 
quickly  than  the  other  immigrants. 

Argentina  is  not  a  country  for  the  casual  English- 
man whose  motives  for  leaving  home  are  poverty 
or  a  ^onging  for  adventure.  He  cannot  work  as  a 
labourer.  Other  positions  where  money  can  be  earned 
are  few  and  difficult  to  obtain  except  by  personal 
influence.  The  Italians,  too,  are  quiet  and  frugal  in 
their  living — qualities  which  are  not  typical  of  the 
English  immigrant,  and  it  is  often  remarked  that  an 
Italian  will  thrive  where  an  Englishman  would  starve. 

Clerks  and  shop  assistants,  and  those  who  can 
only  do  office  work,  are  not  wanted  at  all.  Farm 
labourers,  dairymen,  and  stockmen  of  practical  ex- 
perience are  welcomed,  and  there  is  a  fair  demand 
for  mechanics.  Engine-drivers  can  get  work  if 
they  can  speak  Spanish,  and  Englishmen  have  been 
found  useful  as  butchers  at  the  freezing  works 
— but  that  is  not  an  occupation  which  will  absorb 
an  unlimited  number. 

A  considerable  number  of  overseers  are  required 
on  estancias,  but  for  these  posts  personal  introduction 
and  previous  practical  experience  are  necessary.    Dis- 


''%^.' 


THE  GAMP  223 

appointment  and  chagrin  await  the  young  man  who 
arrives  in  the  country  with  nothing  except  a  large 
amount  of  physical  energy  and  high  spirits,  and 
wishes  at*  once  to  obtain  a  big  salary  on  a  ranch. 
If  these  ignorant  adventurers  feel  they  must  go  to 
that  part  of  "  abroad  "  their  best  way  is  to  go  on 
a  ranch  as  apprentice  for  some  years  at  a  nominal 
salary.  They  will  find  the  work  hard,  but  the  life 
is  not  without  its  pleasures,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
time  they  will  probably  be  better  qualified  to  take 
up  good  positions.  If  such  a  one,  in  disgust  at  the 
hardness  and  the  monotony  of  the  work,  should 
give  up  and  should  succeed  in  obtaining  a  place  in  a 
bank  or  railway  office,  he  will  find  himself  better  off 
in  money,  but  somewhat  poorer  in  prospects  than 
he  would  be  at  home. 

There  is  little  chance  of  the  immigrant  securing 
a  small  holding  and  forming  a  home.  Even  on 
established  farms  good  openings  are  not  abundant. 
The  colonists  are  often  short  of  capital,  and  not 
long  ago  farming  operations  throughout  an  entire 
district  were  almost  stopped  because  the  colonists 
were  unable  to  buy  seed.  The  position  was  only 
saved  by  the  railway  company  providing  the  seed 
on  easy  terms  and  without  any  security. 

Among  the  more  prosperous  farmers  are  the 
small  Welsh  colony  founded  at  Chubut  in  1865. 
There  are  400  of  them,  who  are  mostly  doing  very 
well,  and  maintain  in  habits,  language,  and  religion 
the  customs  of  their  own  country.  In  the  Andes, 
about  400  miles  from  Port  Madryn,  there  is  another 
p 


226         THE   AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

colony  of  about  500  Welsh  people.  One  hears  there 
on  a  Sunday  the  sound  of  Welsh  hymns  from  the 
chapel. 

When  the  immigrant,  after  his  long  train  journey, 
arrives  at  some  station  on  the  plains  he  finds  that 
the  centre  of  life  is  the  camp  town.  Whether  he 
comes  from  Italy  or  Spain,  Syria  or  Bulgaria,  he  will 
probably  consider  the  camp  towns  are  the  ugliest 
he  has  ever  seen,  unless  he  arrives  at  sunset,  when 
the  glow  and  colour  turn  everything  to  beauty. 
The  roads  are  about  as  bad  as  roads  can  be.  There 
is  no  stone  anywhere,  and  if  holes  are  filled  up  it 
is  with  earth  which  brings  mud  to  mud  and  dust 
to  dust.  When  it  is  wet  they  are  almost  impassable 
through  depth  of  mud,  and  when  it  is  dry  the  dust 
is  even  worse — one  can  see  the  cloud  of  dust  above 
a  town  sometimes  a  dozen  miles  away. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  camp  town — as  distinct 
from  those  in  the  cities — seem  never  to  have  devel- 
oped the  idea  of  making  it  beautiful  or  even  pleasant. 
Extra  buildings  are  run  up  just  where  and  how  the 
owner  likes.  The  prospect  is  marred  everywhere  by 
the  crude  lines  of  galvanised  iron  roofs.  The  houses 
are  built  along  the  uneven  street  in  an  irregularity 
which  has  no  charm.  Refuse  and  dead  dogs  are 
left  lying  about  until  someone  specially  affected,  or 
possibly  the  policeman,  removes  them  a  little  farther 
off.  The  houses  are  all  one-storied,  and  have  the 
street  frontage  built  up  to  look  twice  as  high  as 
the  house  really  is.  In  these  small  towns  the  inns 
— ^generally  at  the  corner  of  the  street — are  one- 


U    '.    ^-. 

:%  !■■      '..      ,.-• 


THE  GAMP  227 

storied  also.  The  bar  is  a  restaurant  for  the  peons, 
who  in  the  evenings  gather  there  to  drink  and  gamble. 
Inside  is  a  more  private  eating-room,  and  beyond 
this  the  yard  round  which  are  the  bedrooms.  The 
sanitary  arrangements  leave  much  to  be  desired, 
and  there  is  everywhere  the  strong  odour  of  garlic. 

The  most  characteristic  figure  of  the  camp  town 
is  the  gaucho.  He  is  the  native  of  the  plains,  and 
is  usually  of  mixed  blood.  The  idle,  independent, 
nomad  gauchos  are  almost  an  extinct  class.  In  the 
early  days  they  refused  to  settle  anywhere,  or  do 
any  regular  work.  They  were  horsemen  and  hunters, 
and  roamed  over  the  plains,  staying  here  and  there 
in  ramshackle  huts  till  restlessness,  or  the  owner  of 
the  land,  moved  them  on.  They  were  the  gipsies 
of  the  Argentine.  Whenever  there  was  a  war  or  a 
revolution  the  gaucho  would  be  found  in  the  van- 
guard, and  in  times  of  peace  he  would  enliven  the 
dullness  with  private  feuds  which  did  not  end  with 
words. 

But  civilisation  has  been  too  strong  for  him,  and 
the  modern  gaucho  is  a  more  law-abiding  and  useful 
person.  He  still  wears  his  old,  picturesque  costume, 
the  broad  sombrero,  the  shirt,  and  wide  Turkish 
trousers,  which  may  be  of  any  colour  in  the  spectrum, 
tucked  into  his  boots.  In  cold  weather  he  wears 
over  his  shoulders  the  poncho,  a  blanket  which  has 
as  many  varieties  of  hue  as  his  trousers.  His  saddle 
is  ornamented  with  silver,  and  he  has  fancy  stirrups 
and  jingling  spurs.  But  the  chief  part  of  his  equip- 
ment is  the  big  knife — often  a  foot  long,  and  usually 


228         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

of  fancy  pattern — stuck  in  his  belt.  This  is  used 
freely  for  defensive  purposes,  or  to  avenge  some 
real  or  imaginary  insult ;  it  also  serves  when  eating 
his  lunch. 

In  spite  of  his  rough  appearance  and  manner, 
the  gaucho  is  often  kind-hearted.  He  is,  however, 
quarrelsome  in  his  cups,  and  has  all  the  native 
capacity  for  fancying  an  insult  and  much  tenacity 
in  revenge.  Much  of  his  spare  time  is  spent  in 
gambling,  and  any  money  he  does  not  lose  in  this 
way  he  spends  in  drink  or  extravagant  and  useless 
purchases. 

At  the  heart  of  the  camp  town  stands  the  camp 
store,  and  the  gauchos  will  always  be  found  near 
it.  It  is  the  post  office,  the  exchange,  the  rendez- 
vous. Under  its  roof  are  formed  and  discussed  the 
ideas  that  count  in  local  self-government.  Business 
is  transacted  with  a  delightful  absence  of  hustle. 
All  the  slowness  of  Spanish  courtesy  is  added  to 
the  deliberation  of  the  dweller  in  wide  solitudes. 
The  result  is  an  unhurrying  way  of  buying  and 
selling  which  would  make  a  Smithfield  salesman 
white  with  despair, 
"f  The  gauchos  are  responsible  for  the  chief  amuse- 
ment of  the  camp  town — other  than  drinking  and 
gambling — for  it  is  they  who  organise  the  horse- 
races. These  primitive  meetings  are  not  quite  so 
frequent  as  they  used  to  be,  but  they  still  take  place 
on  many  Sundays  and  holidays,  and  for  them  the 
gaucho  makes  preparations  such  as  he  cannot  be 
stirred  to  at  any  other  time.     He  gets  a  new  suit  of 


THE  GAMP  229 

clothes,  cleans  and  polishes  the  saddle  and  bridle 
of  his  horse,  puts  round  his  neck  a  silk  scarf  of 
gorgeous  design,  and  has  an  unwonted  show  of  silver 
both  on  his  horse  and  himself.  Only  on  horseback 
is  the  gaucho  thoroughly  at  home,  and  on  these  days 
he  looks  his  best.  There  is  no  finesse  about  the 
racing ;  it  is  a  test  of  sheer  endurance  of  man  and 
animal,  and  when  the  race  is  over  both  are  ex- 
hausted. The  handicapping  has  none  of  the  careful 
science  of  Newmarket.  When  the  best  horse  is  in 
full  course,  running  as  fast  as  it  can  be  urged,  the 
handicapper  catches  one  of  his  hind  feet  in  a  lasso 
and  gives  a  quick  jerk  so  that  horse  and  rider  are 
flung  heavily  to  the  ground.  This,  as  may  be 
imagined,  gives  the  second  horse  a  very  fair  chance 
of  equalising  a  disadvantage  in  pace  or  staying 
power.  Although  the  riders  are  perfect  horsemen, 
there  is  little  attraction  for  the  European  spectator 
in  such  a  wild  ordeal  to  man  and  animal.  The 
prizes  are  usually  a  saddle,  a  bridle,  a  suit  of  clothes, 
or  even  a  piece  of  beef  of  ample  size  and  unusual 
quality.  The  gaucho,  it  may  be  mentioned,  is  very 
fond  of  beef,  which  he  roasts  with  the  hide  on. 

The  duties  of  the  gaucho  are  to  look  after  the 
stock  on  the  ranch,  chiefly  in  connection  with  the 
"  rodeo,"  or  mustering  of  the  cattle.  Mounted  on 
horseback,  the  gaucho  drives  the  animals  to  the 
meeting-place.  The  herds  are  never  allowed  to 
stand  still,  but  even  at  the  end  of  their  journey  are 
kept  moving  in  a  sort  of  rough  circle  so  that  the 
chance  of  panic  and  stampede  is  minimised.      The 


230         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

cattle  are  counted  by  driving  them  in  ones  or  twos 
through  a  narrow  line,  a  task  requiring  considerable 
activity — especially  when  the  herd,  after  being 
counted,  has  to  be  divided  into  two  or  three  lots — 
if  a  stampede  is  to  be  prevented. 

Perhaps  the  only  fear  in  the  gaucho's  life  is  that 
he  may  take  anthrax  from  the  cattle,  for  should  he 
do  so,  and  the  wound  be  not  cut  or  burnt  out  by 
the  third  day,  his  chance  of  recovery  is  slight. 

With  the  changes  that  have  come  over  the 
estancias  during  the  last  twenty-five  years — fenced 
fields  of  alfalfa  appearing  where  formerly  there 
was  nothing  but  the  open  plain — the  days  of  unre- 
stricted gallop  over  the  prairie  are  over.  The  rider 
now  passes  through  an  endless  series  of  enclosures, 
through  gate  after  gate.  The  law  of  trespass,  form- 
erly unknown,  may  even  prevent  him  from  approach- 
ing the  lagunas.  Barbed  wire,  too,  has  been  intro- 
duced ;  but  though  injuries  sometimes  occur,  the 
cattle  seem  to  have  learned  to  keep  clear  of  it. 

In  the  house  itself  the  change  is  as  remarkable. 
The  old  cramped  quarters  and  ugly  furniture  have 
given  place  to  more  rooms,  better  furnished,  and 
pictures,  pianos,  and  books  are  not  at  all  un- 
common. Fruit  and  flower  gardens  have  been  laid 
out.  Sometimes  on  a  large  ranch  a  dairy  is  found ; 
there  is  a  blacksmith's  and  carpenter's  shop,  and 
gardeners  and  book-keepers  are  kept.  Better  accom- 
modation is  also  provided  for  the  peons.  Still, 
generally  speaking,  these  are  the  exceptions. 

Around  the  ranches  of  Britishers  there  are  many 


THE  CAMP  231 

signs  of  national  individuality — a  tennis  court, 
cricket  grounds,  even  a  golf  course.  Pheasants  and 
rabbits  are  sometimes  reared  so  that  the  exile  may 
not  be  without  a  chance  of  shooting  such  as  be 
would  enjoy  at  home. 

The  houses  themselves  are  not  costly  structures. 
Some  are  of  the  soft,  dark  red  Argentine  brick, 
which  mellows  rapidly,  and  in  a  few  years  looks  as 
picturesque  and  soft-toned  as  English  brick  does 
after  a  century  or  so. 

The  houses  of  the  colonists  are  mostly  built  of 
mud.  The  new  colonist,  when  given  his  unprepared 
Iand>  does  not  trouble  to  build  anything  but  the 
simplest  of  dwellings.  Boards  are  built  up  so  as 
to  leave  a  narrow  oblong  space  of  the  same  shape 
as  the  outer  walls  of  the  house  are  to  be,  and  in  this 
is  placed  mud  mixed  with  straw.  When  this  has 
dried  the  boards  are  removed,  and  the  four  walls 
of  the  required  height  are  left  standing.  Spaces  for 
windows  and  doors  are  then  cut  out,  a  thatched  roof 
is  put  on,  and,  without  much  further  elaboration, 
the  tenants  put  in  the  furniture  and  begin  life  in 
their  new  home.  Sometimes  the  walls  are  made  of 
mud  bricks. 

A  curious  feature  of  the  camp  are  the  large  carts, 
with  wheels  8  feet  high,  on  which  the  wheat  is  taken 
from  the  camp  to  the  railway  station.  They  are 
drawn  by  oxen,  ten  or  twelve  being  required  for 
each  cart,  which  will  carry  several  tons.  As  the 
axles  are  never  greased  the  noise  made  by  these 
carts  is  frightful. 


232         THE    AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Labour,  especially  at  harvest  time,  is  scarce,  for 
owing  to  the  lack  of  granaries  and  elevators  the  grain 
must  be  gathered  and  threshed  quickly,  and  though 
the  latest  reaping  machines  are,  of  course,  used, 
the  best  of  them  require  much  auxiliary  labour. 
Even  in  the  busy  harvest  time,  however,  the  mid- 
day siesta  for  everyone  in  the  camp  is  not  omitted, 
as  the  sun  is  extremely  hot  for  two  or  three  hours 
about  noon. 

The  huge  flocks  of  sheep,  varying  in  size  from 
12,000  to  80,000,  are  mostly  owned  by  New  Zealand 
ranchers  who  have  settled  in  Argentina  in  recent 
years.  They  are  shepherded  on  the  open  pampas 
by  gauchos  on  horseback,  whose  chief  duty  is  to 
keep  the  flocks  apart,  and  so  prevent  confusion  of 
ownership  or  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases. 
Formerly  the  mutton  was  burnt  as  fuel,  only  the 
wool,  tallow,  and  skins  being  sold ;  but  since  the 
advent  of  cold  storage  it  has  been  exported.  The 
wool  is  not  washed  before  sale,  and  therefore  fetches 
a  low  price.  The  shearing,  which  used  to  be  done 
by  hand,  is  now  nearly  all  done  by  machinery. 
Travelling  from  ranch  to  ranch  each  shearer  deals, 
on  the  average,  with  about  a  hundred  sheep  a  day. 

There  is  one  farm  where  a  flock  of  about  13,000 
Lincoln  ewes  are  milked  in  dairies,  and  a  consider- 
able profit  made.  The  milk  is  made  into  cheese, 
which  finds  a  ready  sale.  It  is  only  in  exception- 
ally rich  pastures  that  this  is  done,  and  the  utmost 
care  is  taken  that  the  lamb  does  not  suffer  from 
the  deprivation. 


THE  GAMP  233 

One  of  the  most  important  changes  of  recent 
years  has  been  the  introduction  of  windmills  for 
pumping  water.  In  the  absence  of  rivers  and  lakes 
a  well  worked  by  hand  was  used  in  the  old  days 
to  draw  water  for  the  house,  while  the  cattle  would 
drink  at  the  shallow  lagunas  in  the  hollows  of  the 
plain.  But  as  the  best  land  is  higher  up  wells  and 
troughs  had  to  be  made.  First  there  was  the 
"  jaguel,"  worked  by  a  horse  and  rider.  Next  came 
an  arrangement  of  buckets  on  an  endless  chain, 
which  brought  up  water  and  emptied  it  into  the 
troughs  or  reservoirs.  This  was  the  "  noria,"  and 
was  worked  by  a  horse  or  mule.  But  when  the 
water  level  began  to  fall — some  say  through  the 
introduction  of  alfalfa — and  the  lagunas  to  dry  up, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  dig  deeper  wells,  and  to 
adopt  the  use  of  semi-artesian  wells.  The  water, 
which  often  is  saline,  is  specially  so  when  drawn 
from  these  semi-artesian  wells. 

The  great  scourge  which  the  camp  has  to  fight, 
as  already  shown,  is  the  swarms  of  locusts  which 
have  come  down  annually  from  the  north  since 
1905.  Previous  to  that  there  had  been  freedom 
from  this  pest  for  five  years.  The  invasion  usually 
begins  in  October,  when  a  few  flying  locusts  may 
be  seen.  In  a  day  or  two  they  are  arriving  in  millions, 
and  at  the  worst  are  so  numerous  that  they  form  a 
cloud  over  the  face  of  the  sun,  and  make  a  shadow 
beneath  them.  The  principal  damage  is  done  by 
what  is  left  behind  by  the  locusts — for  millions  upon 
millions  of  eggs  are  deposited  in  the  ground.     In 


234         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

about  six  weeks  the  young  are  hatched.  They  can- 
not fly,  but  jump  Uke  grasshoppers,  which,  indeed, 
they  very  much  resemble,  except  for  their  bright 
colouring — ^red  and  yellow,  black  and  green.  They 
move  in  swarms  from  stem  to  stem,  and  every  frag- 
ment of  green  leaf  disappears  before  their  devour- 
ing energy.  After  they  have  visited  a  cornfield 
nothing  is  left  but  naked  stalks.  Six  weeks  later 
they  develop  wings,  and  swarms  of  them  begin  to 
fly  across  the  sky  like  clouds  or  smoke  from  some 
great  conflagration.  They  will  alight  in  such  heaps 
on  a  railway  track  that  they  sometimes  stop  a  train. 
Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  way  in 
which  the  Government  assists  the  landowners  to 
fight  this  plague.  Under  penalty  of  a  fine  every 
landowner  must  maintain  men  to  fight  the  locusts. 
But  even  if  it  were  possible  to  exterminate  all  those 
on  one  estate,  they  might  arrive  in  equal  numbers 
from  adjoining  land,  and  a  million  are  not  missed 
from  a  thousand  million.  Unanimous  action  alone 
would  be  effective,  and  this  the  Government  are  try- 
ing to  bring  about.  Meanwhile,  a  commission  has 
been  appointed  to  deal  with  the  subject.  It  is 
probable  that  if  the  northern  source  from  which  they 
come  could  be  found  the  country  could  rid  itself 
of  the  trouble  within  a  few  years. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A   MIXED    GRILL 

In  the  hot  months,  December,  January,  and  Febru- 
ary, it  is  the  proper  thing  to  move  to  Mar  del  Plata. 
There  the  rich  Argentines  disport  themselves  with 
the  gorgeousness  of  the  Russians  at  Yalta  in  Sep- 
tember. If  the  ladies  do  not  bathe  in  pearl  neck- 
laces they  wear  exquisite  "  creations  "  ;  and  pro- 
priety insists  that  the  men  must  wear  a  costume 
which  is  a  cross  between  a  frock  coat  and  a  suit  of 
pyjamas.  The  Parisian  houses  have  their  repre- 
sentatives in  the  Republic,  and  an  Argentine  lady 
who  does  not  change  expensive  dresses  five  times 
a  day  is  out  of  the  fun.  There  is  gold  and  gambling 
and  dancing  at  the  most  elaborate,  though  not  the 
gayest — for  the  Argentine  is  not  gay — seaside  resort 
in  the  world.  As  for  the  "  tango  "  dance,  no  re- 
spectable Argentine  ever  dances  it.  I  have  seen  it 
performed  in  tempestuous  manner  amongst  those 
who  do  not  mind  whether  they  are  considered  re- 
spectable or  not — a  very  different  thing  from  the 
milk-and-water  efforts  in  London  ballrooms. 

It  is  not  quite  decided  whether  the  phrase  "  filthy 
lucre  "  comes  from  the  United  States  or  from  Argen- 
tina. There  is  only  one  dirtier  thing  in  the  world 
than   the   American   dollar   note,    and   that   is   the 

235 


236         THE    AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

Argentine  peso ;  but  in  extenuation  of  its  filth  one 
has  to  remember  it  is  less  than  half  the  dollar's 
value.  I  am  convinced  that  one  of  the  reasons 
money  is  held  in  small  regard  in  the  Argentine  is 
that  nobody  can  have  any  respect  for  a  worn, 
tattered,  and  evil-smelling  piece  of  paper,  even 
though  its  equivalent  be  a  shilling  and  eightpence. 
I  never  appreciated  the  genuine  value  of  money 
till  I  changed  a  bilious  and  decrepit  ten  peso  note 
for  half-crowns,  shillings,  and  threepenny  bits.  Of 
course,  the  Argentines  have  no  money  but  paper 
and  nickel,  though  you  are  assured  there  are  untold 
millions  of  gold  in  the  cellars  of  the  national  casa. 
But  you  never  strike  anything  but  paper.  When  I 
drew  English  gold  from  the  bank  for  use  on  my 
voyage  home,  and  swaggeringly  emptied  an  envelope 
of  sovereigns  on  the  table  at  a  luncheon  party  given 
by  the  British  Minister,  my  lady  neighbour  gave  a 
little  shriek  of  delight  at  the  blessed  spectacle  of  a 
real  English  sovereign.  The  only  coin  which  holds 
good  the  world  round  is  the  British  sovereign. 

Now  of  the  cosmopolitan  throng  exploiting  the 
resources  of  Argentina  it  has  been  left  to  the  Jews 
to  work  on  distinctive  racial  lines.  The  Hebrew 
population  numbers  40,000,  a  community  founded 
and  fostered  according  to  well-defined  plans  which 
not  only  ensure  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  the 
thrifty,  but  mark  a  revival  of  agriculture  as  one  of 
the  industrial  arts  of  the  Jews. 

Centuries  of  wandering,  of  persecution  and  oppres- 
sion,  of  lethargic  waiting  for  the   "  return  to  the 


A  MIXED  GRILL  237 

promised  land,"  divorced  the  Hebrew  from  his 
original  position  as  an  agriculturist.  In  the  Argen- 
tine he  is  beginning  to  rehabilitate  himself.  Backed 
by  the  Jewish  Colonisation  Association,  and  aided 
by  that  commercial  talent  which  has  become  charac- 
teristic of  the  Jew  wherever  he  may  be,  the  Jewish 
farmer  in  South  America  represents  a  new  type  in 
the  great  Israelitish  family. 

What  more  natural  than  that  the  Argentine 
should  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  likely  homes  for 
the  wandering  tribes  by  those  who  for  years  have 
promoted  the  Jewish  settlement  movements  ?  Jewish 
patriarchs  and  philanthropists  looked  longingly  at 
the  map  of  South  America  in  search  of  a  goal  for 
racial  and  religious  aspirations.  The  oppression  and 
persecution  of  co-religionists  in  Russia  and  Roumania 
in  the  early  'nineties  called  for  action  as  well  as 
ideals.  Shelter  had  to  be  found  where  thrift  and 
enterprise  were  offered  their  due  reward.  Argentina 
was  fixed  upon,  and  the  foundation  of  to-day's  well 
organised  scheme  was  inaugurated  through  the 
munificence  of  the  late  Baron  Hirsch.  Under  his 
last  will  and  testament  the  financial  stability  of  the 
colonisation  scheme  was  secured. 

A  society  representative  of  Israelites  in  Berlin, 
London,  Frankfort,  Paris,  and  Brussels,  as  well  as 
the  Anglo-Jewish  and  other  Hebrew  associations, 
was  formed  under  English  jurisdiction.  Only  the 
interest  of  the  fund  left  by  the  baron  may  be  spent 
in  assisting  Jewish  colonists  to  the  ownership  of 
their  farms,   and  the  tiding  over  of  the  inevitable 


238         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

depressions  in  agriculture.  Every  two  months  the 
executive  of  this  society  meets  in  Paris  and  con- 
siders the  destinies  of  Jewish  colonists  not  only  in 
the  Argentine,  but  in  the  United  States,  Canada, 
Asia  Minor,  Palestine,  Brazil,  and  Russia. 

The  memory  of  Baron  Hirsch  is  perpetuated  in 
Argentina  by  the  prosperous  colony  bearing  his 
name  in  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires.  Altogether 
the  Jewish  Colonisation  Society  owns  some  250  leagues 
of  land  in  the  country.  The  property  in  the  Baron 
Hirsch  Colony  alone  covers  44  square  leagues,  and 
is  served  by  three  important  stations. 

In  many  respects  the  colonisation  of  the  Jews  in 
the  Republic  sets  an  example  in  thoroughness  that 
might  well  be  copied.  The  main  purpose  of  the 
scheme — to  succour  the  oppressed — is  carried  out 
without  prejudicing  the  financial  security  of  the  society. 
Houses  are  provided  in  each  of  the  Jewish  colonies 
for  the  new  immigrant,  and  here  the  family  is  cared 
for  till  work  on  one  of  the  farms  has  been  found  for 
the  father.  Only  those  who  have  fled  from  oppression 
are  granted  the  financial  assistance  of  the  Colonisa- 
tion Society  in  establishing  their  own  independence. 
Jews  from  Germany  and  Great  Britain  are  not  granted 
holdings  by  the  society.  The  probable  explanation 
of  this  rule  is  that  the  English  or  German  emigrant 
arrives  forearmed,  and  is  financially  equipped  for 
colonial  enterprise  before  leaving  these  free  countries. 

The  applicant  for  a  holding,  roughly  350  acres, 
must  first  of  all  have  had  two  years'  residence  in  the 
country,  and  show  that  he  has  had  practical  experi- 


A  MIXED  GRILL  239 

ence  in  farm  work.  His  application  is  sent  to  Buenos 
Aires,  where  the  interests  of  the  Jewish  Colonisation 
Society  in  the  Argentine  are  watched  by  a  perma- 
nent administration.  From  there  a  report  is  for- 
warded to  the  international  executive  in  Paris  before 
the  land  is  finally  allotted  to  the  applicant.  The 
rest  follows  the  ideals  of  those  who  are  working  at 
the  rural  and  agricultural  problems  in  Great  Britain. 
At  practically  cost  price  the  land  is  sold  to  the  new 
tenant  farmer.  The  rate  of  interest  charged  by  the 
society  is  4  per  cent.  Twenty  years  for  repayment 
of  the  capital  is  fixed  as  a  minimum  as  well  as  a 
maximum  period.  However  successful  the  farmer 
may  be,  he  is  not  allowed  to  receive  the  title  deeds 
of  his  allotment  until  twenty  years  have  elapsed. 
The  value  of  this  precaution  has  often  been  proved. 
For  one  thing,  it  hinders  any  tendency  to  traffic 
in  the  land  and  to  raise  mortgages  on  the  slightest 
provocation.  The  successful  tenant  can  always  find 
use  for  his  year's  surplus  in  developing  and  improving 
the  estate  which  is  one  day  to  be  his  own.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  rapid  increase  in  land  values  leaves 
the  society  on  the  safe  side  should  the  tenant  pur- 
chaser be  unfortunate  or  lacking  in  enterprise. 
Apart  from  the  land,  the  society  advances  the  tenant 
3,000  dollars  in  the  form  of  horses,  machinery,  and 
equipment.  In  the  event  of  the  farmer  failing  to 
make  his  way,  the  society  only  stands  to  lose  a  year 
or  two's  interest  on  the  capital  outlay.  And  the 
natural  increase  in  the  value  of  the  land,  as  I  have 
before  shown,  is  sufficient  to  cover  any  such  deficit. 


240         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

A  variation  of  these  conditions  operates  in  the 
Baron  Hirsch  Colony.  Here,  instead  of  being 
advanced  the  value  of  3,000  dollars,  the  applicant 
for  a  farm  has  to  prove  possession  of  such  a  sum 
before  he  is  qualified  to  take  over  an  allotment. 

With  wise  foresight  the  Jewish  colonies  have  been 
set  up  in  various  parts  of  the  Republic.  This  pre- 
vents the  scheme  from  being  dedicated  to  one  class 
of  agriculture,  and  enables  the  colonist  to  try  his 
hand,  say,  at  cattle  rearing  if  crop-raising  does  not 
prove  to  his  liking.  In  the  northern  colonies  the 
industry  is  chiefly  in  cattle,  corn,  and  olive  growing, 
while  in  the  south  the  cultivation  is  chiefly  in  wheat, 
rye,  and  oats. 

A  good  year  sees  the  industrious  farmer  with  a 
surplus  of  anything  from  10,000  to  20,000  dollars 
(Argentine).  Should  bad  weather  or  working  mis- 
fortunes turn  the  account  the  other  way  he  has  only 
to  apply  to  the  administration  in  Buenos  Aires,  and 
the  money  advanced  is  simply  added  to  the  purchase 
price  of  his  holding. 

On  the  whole  the  Jewish  colonists  are  thrifty 
and  prosperous.  They  have  their  own  co-operative 
societies  for  the  purchase  of  necessities  and  the  dis- 
tribution of  their  products  ;  they  have  their  sick 
funds  and  local  hospitals ;  religious  freedom  has 
enabled  them  to  establish  their  own  tabernacles  and 
to  observe  the  Jewish  feasts.  They  have  set  a 
splendid  example  in  citizenship  to  their  neighbour- 
ing colonists.  In  the  Argentine,  perhaps  more  than 
elsewhere,  the  Jews  are  on  the  high  road  to  a  re- 


A  MIXED  GRILL  241 

storation  of  their  ancient  virility,  and  are  best 
fulfilling  their  destiny  as  a  great  race. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Welsh  settlements 
already  alluded  to,  the  Jews  stand  alone  as  colonists 
on  purely  racial  lines.  The  effectiveness  of  their 
organisation  is  the  measure  of  their  contentment 
and  prosperity.  We  have  the  contrast  in  the  case 
of  other  immigrants.  Many  of  them  are  captured  by 
the  political  agitator.  They  are  taught  to  see  in  revolt 
and  industrial  uprising  the  short  cut  to  affluence 
and  ease.  Strikes  are  frequent,  discontent  is  sown, 
and  time  is  devoted  to  attacks  upon  authority  which 
might  be  better  employed  in  individual  effort. 
Politics  are  so  inseparable  from  the  daily  affairs  of 
the  country  that  discontent  in  the  main  becomes 
wholly  political.  Its  manifestations  have  no  bear- 
ing upon  the  social  and  commercial  possibilities  of 
the  Argentine.  With  wise  and  tolerant  government 
on  the  one  hand,  and  patience  and  perseverance 
on  the  other,  much  of  the  friction  that  now  arises 
would  disappear. 

For  it  has  to  be  admitted  that  some  of  the  attacks 
upon  the  bureaucracy  are  not  altogether  inexcusable. 
With  the  influence  of  officialdom  forcing  itself  upon 
every  interest  of  the  working  classes,  the  inevitable 
increase  in  the  cost  of  living,  and  the  instances  of 
bureaucratic  tyranny  frequently  brought  to  light,  it 
is  not  to  be  wondered  that  the  unorganised  labourer 
adopts  the  exaggerated  point  of  view  of  the  agitator, 
and  sees  in  revolution  alone  the  pathway  to  reform. 

In  Buenos  Aires,  for  example,  the  cost  of  living 
0 


242         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

is  greater  than  elsewhere,  though  the  scale  of  wages 
is  also  higher.  Imported  goods  are  dear,  rent  high, 
efficient  labour  scarce,  and  municipal  rates  heavy. 
The  result  is  that  even  the  highly  paid  worker  finds 
himself  with  only  a  moderate  balance  when  all 
charges  are  met. 

With  the  agriculturist  things  are  not  so  bad.  He 
can  produce  for  himself  most  of  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  can  avoid  many  of  the  burdens  of  the  towns- 
man in  the  way  of  expensive  clothing  and  other 
imported  luxuries.  Strange  as  it  may  appear  in  a 
country  supplying  most  of  the  world's  markets,  meat 
in  Buenos  Aires  is  nearly  as  dear  as  in  England. 
The  same  applies  to  many  other  commodities  pro- 
duced or  producible  in  the  country.  A  comparative 
list  shows  few  things  cheaper  in  the  Argentine  than 
in  the  Old  World. 

The  cost  of  the  breakfast  table  might  be  reduced 
considerably  if  more  trouble  were  taken  with  what 
one  might  describe  as  the  by-products  of  agriculture. 
The  people  are  invariably  out  for  the  big  deal  in 
cattle  or  corn.  Insufficient  attention  is  paid  to 
dairy-farming,  poultry  rearing,  gardening,  fruit- 
growing, and  the  production  of  those  little  com- 
forts that  are  now  part  and  parcel  of  agriculture  in 
England  and  France.  The  cultivator's  first  and,  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  only  thought  is  the  land  and 
its  direct  yield.  With  the  same  opportunities  many 
an  English  small-holder  would  make  a  quick  fortune 
in  Argentina.  In  this  oversight  the  Argentine  has 
gone  the  way  of  most  new  countries.     The  question 


A  MIXED  GRILL  243 

of  "  agricultural  smalls,"  however,  as  I  have  shown, 
is  now  being  considered  in  conjunction  with  the 
increased  cost  of  living. 

Labour  is  so  scarce  in  some  parts  that  the  intro- 
duction of  Chinese  or  Japanese  colonists  has  been 
suggested.  Such  a  step,  however,  would  arouse  as 
fierce  a  criticism  as  did  the  introduction  of  Chinese 
coolies  on  the  South  African  Rand  mines.  They  were 
tried  in  Chili,  and  are  by  no  means  liked.  The 
lumber  trade  of  Posados  still  requires  thousands  of 
workers.  The  natives  cannot  be  kept  at  work  to 
any  extent,  and  to  meet  the  demand  Russians,  Poles, 
and  Finns  have  been  brought  over  in  thousands. 
Timber  for  railway  sleepers  is  the  principal  product. 
Each  year  some  two  million  logs  are  sent  down  the 
Parana  River  to  be  used  in  railway  construction  at 
home  and  abroad. 

The  lessons  ^of  the  great  coal  strike  in  England 
during  1912  were  quickly  grasped  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  Argentina.  Like  other  countries  depending 
upon  Great  Britain  for  coal  supplies,  Argentina  had 
to  consider  the  disastrous  consequences  of  any  dis- 
organisation of  her  transport  service.  Substitutes 
for  coal  fuel  had  to  be  counted.  The  crisis  of  this 
period  proved  ^  blessing  in  disguise.  Government 
attention  was  directed  towards  the  discovery  of  oil 
in  widely  separated  districts  of  the  Republic.  A 
law  has  now  been  passed  reserving  to  the  Govern- 
ment 12,500  acres  of  the  petroleum  zone  of  Comodora 
Rivadavia,  and  prohibiting  the  issue  of  any  mining 
or  proprietary  rights.     To  displace  coal,   Argentina 


244         THE    AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

would  require  2,000,000  tons  of  oil  fuel  and  about 
150  wells.  A  start  has  been  made  in  the  south, 
where  fresh  wells  are  being  sunk  at  Comodora 
Rivadavia.  Five  wells  produced  18,000  tons  of 
petroleum  in  a  year  of  experiment.  In  1913  it 
rose  to  28,000  tons.  When  the  Argentine  can  turn 
its  attention  from  the  sources  of  wealth  now  being 
tapped,  who  knows  what  will  follow  the  enterprise 
in  oil  ?  But  nothing  has  been  found  which  would 
warrant  a  "  boom  "  in  Argentine  oil. 

Meanwhile,  an  annual  increase  of  1,000,000  tons 
in  the  shipping  trade  of  Buenos  Aires  has  left  Argen- 
tina, like  Oliver  Twist,  asking  for  more.  The  cattle- 
breeding  industry  responds  to  each  stimulus  given 
by  the  provision  of  more  refrigerating  vessels.  The 
supply  of  meat  is  always  greater  than  the  means  of 
distribution.  Already  America  is  looking  to  the 
Argentine  for  meat  to  augment  her  own  supplies. 
It  is  the  only  country  to  which  she  can  turn  with 
confidence.  Other  parts  of  the  world  have  for  years 
been  fed  from  here.  The  dependence  of  the  outer 
world  upon  the  meat  and  cereals  of  Argentina  almost 
suggests  that  the  country  was  pre-ordained  to  be  the 
larder  of  the  human  family. 

For  the  hunter  and  traveller,  Argentina  and  its 
bordering  lands  have  their  full  share  of  attractions. 
The  plains  and  mountains  of  the  Andean  land  are 
the  haunts  of  the  jaguar,  puma,  wild  cat,  and  various 
breeds  of  wild  deer.  Its  birds  include  the  vulture, 
hawk,  albatross,  penguin,  snipe,  bustard,  partridges 
of  several  kinds,  as  well  as  singing  birds  in  great 


A  MIXED  GRILL  245 

variety.  In  fact,  many  of  the  birds  of  the  mountain 
and  forest  are  still  unclassified,  and  are  the  study  of 
ornithologists  and  naturalists  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  martinetta,  a  big  grouse,  brings  into 
sport  something  of  a  novelty.  It  is  slow  to  fly, 
and  is  often  caught  by  snares  into  which  it  is  driven. 
For  variation,  however,  it  is  forced  to  take  wing 
by  means  of  a  rope  dragged  by  riders  across  the 
path.  The  rope  pulls  the  martinetta  off  its  feet. 
As  soon  as  it  flies  the  third  huntsman  behind  the 
rope  fires.  Three  are  necessary  to  form  a  party, 
and  the  turn  with  the  gun  is  arranged. 

A  peculiar  type  of  llama  is  found  in  these  parts. 
In  shape  the  long  neck  and  head  resemble  those  of 
the  giraffe  and  camel  respectively.  The  body  is 
like  that  of  a  donkey  and  the  legs  are  as  graceful 
as  those  of  a  deer.  Their  voracity  makes  them 
unpopular  with  sheep  breeders,  except  for  the  value 
of  their  skins,  for  it  has  been  estimated  that  one 
guanaco — as  they  are  called — will  eat  as  much  grass 
as  nine  sheep.  The  beautiful  humming  bird  is  found 
in  parts  of  the  Argentine  as  well  as  in  the  Andes. 
Many  of  the  vultures  are  also  to  be  seen.  The 
condor  is  a  bird  of  such  immense  size  as  to  be  worthy 
of  special  mention.  From  wing  to  wing  it  measures 
9  feet.  To  hatch  its  eggs  it  seeks  the  remote  crags 
of  the  Andes,  and  has  been  found  at  an  altitude  of 
20,000  feet. 

In  Patagonia  we  are  able  to  revive  memories  of 
the  schoolroom,  and  to  ste  how  far  juvenile  fancy 
has  exaggerated  the  stature  of  what  the  teacher  said 


246         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

were  the  biggest  men  in  the  world.  Their  actual 
height  is  from  5  feet  10  inches  to  6  feet  4  inches, 
but  their  stature  is  rendered  more  impressive  on 
account  of  their  huge  arms  and  massive  chests.  As 
the  name  implies,  and  as  the  school-reader  reminded 
us,  the  Patagonians  have  huge  flat  feet.  Their 
adoption  of  such  civilised  habiliments  as  boots  would 
mean  a  revolution  in  the  standards  of  the  boot- 
making  industry.  Among  travellers  the  Patagonian 
has  a  good  reputation  for  honesty,  amiability,  and 
kindness  to  his  womenfolk.  The  people  have  no 
idols,  but  believe  in  witchcraft. 

Patagonia  is  almost  virgin  land,  and  Santa  Cruz 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  dreary  region  of  the  country. 
It  is  considered,  however,  to  have  a  future,  and 
some  promising  settlements  have  already  been 
established.  The  Patagonian  pastures  have  not  as 
yet  been  bothered  about  by  Argentines,  because  they 
are  still  wanting  more  workers  to  develop  the  enor- 
mous northern  areas. 

The  force  of  the  alliance  between  good  government 
and  good  health  is  ever  present  to  the  traveller  in 
South  America.  The  continent  has  witnessed  the 
greatest  ravages  of  leprosy.  It  is  significant  that  the 
greater  number  of  lepers  are  found  where  govern- 
ments are  unstable  and  administration  uncertain. 
In  Chili  and  Argentina,  where  government  is  some- 
thing more  than  a  symbol,  lepers  are  relatively  few, 
and  are  practically  disappearing.  Farther  north  the 
position  is  worse,  and  again  there  comes  the  analogy 
between  bad  government  and  disease.     Venezuela, 


A  MIXED  GRILL  247 

Colombo,  and  Ecuador,  where  the  Hfe  of  no  govern- 
ment is  certain  for  above  twenty-four  hours,  are 
among  the  worst  areas  of  leprosy.  Complete  segre- 
gation is  the  only  effective  method  of  coping  with 
the  disease.  This  can  only  be  accomplished  with 
firm  and  effective  administration. 


CHAPTER  XX 

TUCUMAN  AND  THE  SUGAR  INDUSTRY 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  visit  Tucuman  in  the 
northern  area  of  Argentina  during  the  height  of  the 
sugar-cane  harvest.  Here  one  was  about  as  near  the 
centre  of  South  America  as  could  be  desired.  The 
vegetation  was  wildly  luxuriant,  and  seemed  to  have 
lapped  over  into  Argentina  from  the  jungles  of  Brazil. 
Here,  also,  the  Latin  colonists  seemed  to  have  been 
left  behind,  and  one  ran  into  a  strangely  mixed 
people,  mostly  native  Indian  in  origin,  but  with  a 
tincture  in  their  veins  from  the  Spanish  settlers  of 
centuries  ago,  together  with  a  subsequent  negro 
admixture. 

I  had  looked  forward  to  visiting  a  tropical  town, 
of  long  streets  of  mud  shanties  heavily  thatched, 
and  with  innumerable  palm  trees  waving  their  plumes 
overhead.  This  kind  of  thing  was  to  be  found  in 
the  suburbs,  where  the  Spanish-negro-Indians  wore 
big,  rough-made,  straw-plaited  hats,  and  their  dusky 
mates,  in  bright  garments,  gossipped  in  the  shadows, 
whilst  their  prolific  offspring — often  stark  naked — 
gambolled  in  the  sand.  But  Tucuman  itself  is  much 
like  other  Argentine  towns,  for  it  has  its  plaza  and 
statues  and  public  gardens,  its  imposing  houses  and 
hotels  and  restaurants,  its  tramcars  and  electric  light. 

248 


THE  SUGAR  INDUSTRY  249 

Tucuman  has  played  its  part  in  the  history  of 
the  RepubHc.  It  was  here  that  Independence  was 
proclaimed  in  1810,  when  the  overlordship  of  Spain 
was  repudiated ;  and  it  was  here  that,  after  much 
fighting,  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  on  July  9th, 
1816.  The  house  in  which  this  took  place  was  a 
modest  building,  not  much  bigger  than  a  cottage. 
Sentiment  prevented  it  being  swept  away  before 
the  rush  for  improvement,  and  so  it  has  been  left 
standing.  But  about  it  has  been  erected  an  imposing 
structure.  Here  is  a  house  within  a  house ;  and 
a  stout  dame  conducts  the  visitor  into  a  gaunt  room 
where  Argentina's  first  parliament  assembled  ;  where 
there  are  paintings  of  fierce-eyed  national  heroes, 
frescoes  depicting  the  proclamation  of  Independ- 
ence, the  chair  where  the  first  president  of  the 
Republic  sat,  and  in  which  the  visitor  is  invited  to 
sit ;  and  there  is  the  customary  visitors'  book  to 
be  signed. 

Tucuman  vies  with  Cordoba  in  having  amongst 
its  residents  some  of  the  real  old  Spanish  aristocracy 
of  Argentina.  Indeed,  Tucuman  puts  forth  the  claim 
that  it  has  the  most  beautiful  women  in  South 
America.  Certainly  at  the  hour  of  promenade,  when 
the  sun  begins  to  dip  and  before  nightfall  comes 
swiftly,  and  the  people  take  to  walking  amongst 
the  orange  trees  in  the  Plaza,  or  sauntering  along 
the  main  thoroughfares  inspecting  the  attractions 
in  the  shop  windows,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  imagin- 
ing that  this  is  a  bit  of  Madrid  instead  of  being  a 
little-visited    town   tucked    away    in    the    north    of 


250         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Argentina.  Several  enthusiastic  residents  assured 
me  that  their  ladies  were  as  close  to  the  fashions 
as  Paris  itself.  I  am  no  authority  on  these  matters  ; 
but  I  can  say  that  the  womenfolk  appeared  as  well 
garbed  as  they  are  in  the  capitals  of  Europe.  Along 
the  clean  streets  whizzed  expensive  motor-cars. 
Before  the  restaurants  were  the  little  round  marble- 
topped  tables  with  which  most  of  us  are  acquainted 
in  European  cities ;  and  here  men  sat  and  drank 
their  amer  piquant  and  puffed  their  cigarettes,  whilst 
the  band  played  music,  ragtime  and  other,  with 
which  we  are  so  familiar  at  home. 

The  main  avenue,  still  in  the  making,  promises 
to  be  a  gorgeous  thoroughfare  one  of  these  days. 
There  is  a  casino,  a  theatre  (the  Odeon),  a  palace 
for  the  bishop,  barracks,  a  hospital,  a  brewery  which 
cost  £250,000  to  build,  and  a  "  Savoy  Hotel,"  where 
there  was  on  sale  whisky  "  as  drunk  in  the  House 
of  Lords,"  and  where  one's  admiration  was  only 
checked  by  finding  the  telephone  system  defective. 

Tucuman  is  the  centre  of  the  sugar-growing  in- 
dustry. For  many  miles  around  the  country  is 
covered  with  sugar  plantations,  and  the  railway 
companies  have  little  belt  lines  running  through  the 
cultivated  area  to  facilitate  the  gathering  of  the 
crop.  When  I  was  there  in  1913  the  harvest  had 
been  the  most  prolific  within  knowledge.  In  places 
the  line  was  blocked  with  wagons  pUed  high  with 
the  cane,  whilst  in  several  quarters  I  heard  grumbling 
that  there  was  not  a  sufficiency  of  trucks  to  cope 
with  the  trade. 


A    HISTORIC    BUILDING :     "  GASA    INDEPENDENGIA  "    AT    TUGUMAN. 


THE  SUGAR  INDUSTRY  251 

One  day,  accompanied  by  several  friends,  I  made 
an  extensive  motor-car  trip  to  the  sugar  plantations. 
As  soon  as  we  got  beyond  the  town,  and  upon  the 
broad  road  which  stretched  as  far  as  eye  could  reach 
until  it  was  lost  in  the  shimmer  of  sunshine,  we 
experienced  the  inconvenience  of  a  bad  way.  With 
all  its  excellences,  Argentina,  as  I  have  before  re- 
marked, has  as  bad  roads  as  you  will  find  in  the 
world.  There  had  been  no  rain  for  months,  and 
our  route  was  across  miles  of  powdery  earth.  We 
sank  into  it  almost  to  the  axle.  We  churned  up 
dust  so  that  soon  we  were  smothered  in  it.  Our 
faces  were  almost  as  grimy  as  though  we  had  been 
in  a  coalpit.  Gaucho  horsemen  pranced  past  us  in 
clouds  of  dust.  When  we  overtook  an  ox-drawn 
wagon  it  was  like  pushing  through  a  fog  of  dust. 
On  either  side  the  vegetation  was  profuse  and  rank, 
and  the  terrific  heat  of  the  tropics  filled  the  air 
with  a  strong,  nauseating  aroma. 

When  we  were  in  the  sugar-cane  district  we  saw 
hundreds  of  tawny-skinned  men  cutting  the  cane. 
Armed  with  an  instrument  which  seemed  to  be  half 
knife  and  half  butcher's  chopper,  the  peon  seized 
the  top  of  a  cane,  cut  it  off  near  the  root,  gave  it 
a  swing  in  the  air,  and  with  rapid  slashes  removed 
the  protruding  leaves,  and  then  pitched  the  stalk 
on  one  side,  where  a  heap  was  lying  to  be  gathered 
by  women  and  children  and  carried  to  the  waiting 
wagons.  ~ 

Twice  we  halted  to  watch  the  dexterity  of  the 
cutters   and   to   visit   the   mud   huts.     These   were 


252         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

picturesque  but  not  pretty.  They  looked  like  dis- 
reputable brick-kilns,  and  although  possessed  of  a 
door,  were  deficient  in  windows.  The  interior  was 
dark,  but  most  of  the  family  spend  their  time  out 
of  doors  under  the  trees,  where  they  have  their  fires 
and  prepare  mate,  the  native  tea,  which  is  served 
in  a  shell  and  sucked  through  a  tube.  Whenever 
the  natives  have  nothing  else  to  do  you  are  sure 
to  find  them  drinking  mate. 

Around  Tucuman  are  twenty-five  sugar  mills, 
and  it  is  reckoned  they  produce  200,000  tons  of 
sugar,  of  which  between  60,000  and  70,000  tons 
are  exported.  We  went  to  the  fine  mills  at  San 
Pablo  belonging  to  Nouges  Brothers,  and  the  senior 
partner  was  good  enough  to  show  me  over  the  place, 
so  that  I  could  inspect  the  whole  process,  from  the 
arrival  of  the  cane  until  the  sugar  is  loaded  in  sacks 
ready  to  be  sent  to  Buenos  Aires. 

The  stalks,  as  high  as  a  man,  are  thrown  into  a 
machine  which  literally  chews  them  up.  As  they 
pass  through  heavy  rollers  they  crunch  and  crack, 
and  yield  their  juice  which  runs  in  a  nasty  brown 
fluid  into  a  trough.  Again  the  mashed-up  cane  is 
subjected  to  further  squeezings  between  rollers,  until 
practically  the  last  drop  of  the  syrup  is  squeezed 
out.  The  treacle-like  stuff  is  run  into  big  basins 
beneath  which  furnaces  are  blazing,  and  is  kept  at 
a  simmer  until  the  sugar  reaches  the  consistency  of 
dough.  After  that  it  is  sluiced  into  highly  heated 
steel  cups,  which  are  constantly  whirling. 

It  is  interesting  to  stand  by  in  the  sickly-sweet 


THE  SUGAR  INDUSTRY  253 

atmosphere  and  watch  how,  in  the  constant  spinning 
and  evaporation  from  the  heat,  the  stuff  loses  much 
of  its  brown  appearance  and  becomes,  when  thoroughly 
dried,  like  the  cheap  brown  sugar  as  we  know  it  at 
home.  It  is  further  refined  in  other  hot  chambers 
until  it  is  quite  white.  Then  men  with  sacks  catch 
the  stream  of  sugar  as  it  rushes  from  the  mouth  of 
the  refinery.  Much  of  it  is  spilt,  and  the  men  are 
up  to  their  boots  in  sugar.  But  the  bags  are  quickly 
filled,  pushed  on  one  side,  sewn  up,  hastened  on 
lorries  to  waiting  carts,  which,  when  loaded,  convey 
the  freight  to  the  railway  wagons  close  by.  Senor 
Nouges  told  me  that  at  that  time  his  firm  was  turning 
out  175  tons  of  sugar  a  day. 

The  sugar-cane  must  have  plenty  of  sun  and 
water.  The  rivers  I  saw  during  harvest  time  were 
miserable,  shallow  streams,  meandering  their  way 
through  what  looked  like  a  broad  boulder-strewn 
bed  of  what  once  had  been  a  wide  stream.  I  was 
there,  however,  in  the  dry  season,  but  was  told  that 
in  the  rainy  season  these  streams  are  increased  a 
thousandfold  in  volume,  are  frequently  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  wide,  and,  when  the  torrents  are  heavy, 
overflow  their  banks  and  inundate  the  land.  Irri- 
gation is  carried  to  a  high  point,  so  that  in  times  of 
flood  the  waters  of  the  rivers  can  be  conveyed  many 
miles  and  utilised  in  providing  moisture  to  the  cane. 

It  has  only  been  in  comparatively  recent  years 
that  the  possibilities  of  the  extensive  region  of  North 
Argentina,  of  which  Tucuman  is  the  centre,  in  regard 
to  sugar  have  been  realised.     There  is  the  initial 


254         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

expense  of  clearing  the  ground  of  jungle,  and  pro- 
viding irrigation.  Once,  however,  this  has  been 
done,  and  the  cane  planted,  a  paying  crop  is  obtained 
the  first  year.  The  same  roots  grow  useful  stalks 
for  three  or  four  years,  and  then  comes  the  process 
of  gradually  planting  new  roots  and  removing  the 
old  ones  so  that  the  same  soil  can  be  made  productive. 
Weeds  are  numerous,  and  in  the  early  months  of 
growth  these  have  to  be  constantly  removed,  first 
of  all  to  prevent  their  smothering  the  young  shoots, 
and  secondly  to  give  the  cane  all  the  nutriment  there 
is  in  the  soil.  There  is  also  the  danger  of  invasion 
by  locusts,  and  the  occasional  possibility  in  the  cold 
months — say  about  May  and  June — of  frost  doing 
injury  to  the  saplings.  Allowing,  however,  for  these 
disadvantages,  the  advance  in  the  sugar  industry  in 
Argentina  during  the  last  dozen  years  has  been 
nothing  short  of  amazing.  Still,  I  could  not  help 
feeling  that  the  industry  is  only  in  its  infancy.  As 
soon  as  the  foreigner  appreciates  what  northern 
Argentina  can  do — at  present  most  of  the  sugar 
growing  is  in  the  hands  of  Spanish-Argentines — 
there  will  certainly  be  enormous  development.  One 
of  the  things  which  will  appeal  to  the  foreign 
capitalist  who  takes  up  sugar  growing  on  an  exten- 
sive scale  is  that  there  is  a  quick  return  on  the  money 
invested  in  development. 

Though  Tucuman  is  the  capital  of  the  sugar  grow- 
ing interest,  it  may  be  said  there  are  plenty  of  areas 
equally  favourable  for  raising  the  cane.  Sugar 
growing  at  Tucuman  began  about  thirty  years  ago. 


THE  SUGAR  INDUSTRY  255 

long  before  the  railway  ever  reached  the  place,  and 
to  meet  purely  local  demands ;  because  in  those 
days  the  transport  of  imported  sugar,  as  of  other 
goods,  by  cart  was  expensive.  When  the  railway  put 
Tucuman  into  near  communication  with  other  parts 
of  the  Republic,  the  possibilities  of  a  great  trade 
were  at  once  recognised.  Tucuman  sugar,  however, 
could  not  in  those  days  compete,  either  in  quality  or 
price,  with  that  which  came  from  other  countries. 
It  was,  therefore,  decided  to  give  encouragement  to 
Argentine  sugar  growing  by  a  tariff  on  sugar  which 
came  from  across  sea.  As  one  who  favours  the 
saving  of  a  struggling  industry  in  a  home  country 
from  being  strangled  by  vigorous  foreign  competi- 
tion, I  believe  this  was  the  right  thing  to  do.  Sugar 
growing  bounded  ahead.  Not  many  years  elapsed 
before  the  sugar  growers  became  a  powerful  com- 
bination, with  much  influence  on  the  Government. 
The  result  was  that,  whilst  at  the  start  the  duty  on 
imported  sugar  was  small,  it  was  gradually  increased 
until  it  became  prohibitive.  Therefore  at  the  present 
time  very  little  foreign  sugar  comes  into  the  country, 
and  the  Argentine  industry  has  gone  ahead  in  a 
remarkable  manner. 

Mr.  N.  L.  Watson,  in  his  pubhcation  "  The 
Argentine  as  a  Market,"  describes  how  Tucuman 
became  a  veritable  El  Dorado.  Two  years  sufficed 
to  give  a  net  return  four  times  as  great  as  the 
capital  invested.  As  a  natural  consequence,  lab- 
our and  capital  flowed  into  the  sugar  districts. 
Lawyers  deserted  their  professions,  workmen  their 


256         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

tools,  to  throw  themselves  with  a  regular  fever  into 
an  occupation  so  full  of  promise.  Works  sprang  up 
as  if  by  magic,  palaces  were  constructed  to  house  the 
staffs,  capital  was  lavished  on  the  industry  by 
individuals  and  banking  houses  alike.  While  fortunes 
were  being  created  in  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar- 
cane, orchards,  orange  crops,  pasturage,  and  arable 
land  were  being  either  transformed  or  neglected. 

Something  like  a  trust  has  been  formed  amongst 
the  sugar  growers,  with  the  object  of  maintaining 
prices.  But  public  opinion  is  becoming  so  pronounced 
that,  whilst  there  is  no  disposition  to  let  the  foreigner 
come  in  and  undersell  the  native  production,  the 
tariff  should  be  reduced  in  order  that  there  may 
be  more  competition  between  the  native  and  out- 
side growers,  with  a  slight  advantage  always  given 
to  the  Argentine  grower.  The  Republic  is  quite 
capable  of  growing  all  the  sugar  its  inhabitants  may 
require ;  but  fair  competition  from  the  sugar  of 
other  countries  will  do  much  to  regulate  prices. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE   INDUSTRIAL   SIDE   OF  THE   REPUBLIC 

The  main  energies  of  Argentina  must  for  some  time 
be  devoted  to  her  most  obvious  source  of  wealth. 
Yet  it  would  be  unwise  to  neglect  a  consideration  of 
her  industrial  possibilities.  Naturally  she  is  anxious 
to  supply  herself  with  the  commodities  essential  to 
daily  life  and  comfort.  But  up  to  the  present  the 
Argentine  has  relied  chiefly  upon  the  exchange  of 
its  products,  even  for  commodities  which  might  be 
produced  at  home.  This  is  due  to  the  tendency 
common  to  new  countries  of  going  in  for  the  "  big 
deal."  In  this  sense  the  agricultural  industry  has 
still  a  long  journey  to  go.  Intensive  culture  has  so 
far  not  become  a  necessity.  Extensive  culture  has 
yielded  such  good  profits  that  no  impulse  has  been 
given  to  the  full  exploitation  of  Argentina's  hidden 
resources.  This  partly  explains  why  the  casual 
observer  is  confronted  with  the  apparent  anomaly 
of  vegetables,  fruit,  eggs,  and  other  foodstuffs  being 
dear  in  an  agricultural  country. 

It  is  on  the  lines  of  finishing  her  existing  indus- 
tries, attending  to  by-products  as  well  as  main  pro- 
ducts, that  the  foundations  of  Argentina's  industrial 
future  will  best  be  laid.  The  immediate  obstacle  is 
the  scarcity  of  labour.     The  essential  requirements 

R  257 


258         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

already  exist,  a  good  climate,  excellent  means  of 
communication,  a  growing  population,  an  open 
Custom  House  for  most  of  the  machinery  and  imple- 
ments required  for  national  industries,  and  a  stable 
credit. 

Few  countries  have  been  able  to  inaugurate  home 
industries  under  more  favourable  auspices.  Nothing 
can  deprive  Argentina  of  her  agricultural  eminence. 
But  how  she  will  fare  when  embarking  upon  the 
more  uncertain  career  of  a  home  manufacturer  depends 
upon  many  things.  Necessity  is  already  driving 
Argentina  seriously  to  face  the  problem  of  producing 
for  herself  her  more  obvious  needs.  The  compara- 
tively high  cost  of  living  is  a  growing  trouble.  Infant 
though  she  may  be  industrially,  Argentina  has 
already  experienced  the  evils  of  industrial  unrest. 
The  principal  manifestations  have  been  in  Buenos 
Aires,  which,  in  addition  to  being  the  port  and  the 
centre  of  national  activities,  has  been  the  storm 
centre  of  the  rush  to  exploit  her  resources.  It  is 
the  pulse  of  the  Republic.  Like  other  great  cities, 
it  is  crying  out  against  the  diminishing  value  of  the 
dollar. 

Argentina's  readiness  for  home  manufactures  is 
an  urgent  problem  confronting  the  Government. 
The  Government  wants  a  more  all-round  develop- 
ment of  the  country's  resources.  Interwoven  with 
this  problem  are  important  considerations  :  a  more 
equable  distribution  of  the  population  ;  the  provision 
of  more  centres  for  the  exchange  of  commodities ; 
the  relation  between  taxes  for  revenue  and  protective 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SIDE  259 

tariffs ;  the  selection  of  what  industries  are  to  be 
established  at  an  economic  profit ;  the  extent  to 
which  foreign  manufacturers  can  be  induced  to  start 
their  industries  within  the  Republic. 

So  far,  the  only  industries  that  have  continued 
with  success  are  those  producing  articles  difficult  of 
transport,  or  of  an  expensive  character.  With  a 
greater  mobility  of  trade  in  the  country,  and  a  more 
scientific  manipulation  of  the  tariff,  there  is  no  reason 
why  Argentina  should  not  provide  herself  with  many 
of  the  things  which  to-day  furnish  the  labour  agitator 
with  opportunities  for  tirades  against  "  costly  living." 
Backed  by  agricultural  wealth,  and  supported  by 
splendid  railway  facilities,  Argentina  should  be  able 
to  make  advance  on  particular  lines.  Take  wool  as 
an  illustration.  Argentina  produces  more  than  suffi- 
cient for  her  own  requirements,  and  yet  she  obtains 
woollen  goods  from  other  countries.  Is  it  to  be 
taken  as  final  that  the  absence  of  coal  in  the  country 
makes  the  development  of  woollen  industries  at  home 
an  economic  impossibility  ?  It  is  not,  perhaps,  so 
much  a  question  of  labour  and  initiative  as  the 
absence  of  natural  advantages. 

It  is  necessary  to  look  farther  afield  than  Buenos 
Aires  in  considering  the  chances  of  a  new  industry. 
The  concentration  of  trade  in  the  capital  has  pro- 
bably been  a  hindrance.  The  congestion  of  all 
interests,  commercial,  political,  and  social,  in  "  B.A." 
has  caused  land  to  increase  enormously  in  value, 
an  important  consideration  in  setting  up  factories. 
In  turn,  other  charges  are  correspondingly  increased. 


26o         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

Trade  rises  and  falls  according  to  the  season.  There 
is  less  stability  for  the  worker,  more  fluctuations  for 
the  trader. 

But,  with  railways  linking  up  the  interior  with  the 
coast,  there  is  now  no  necessity  for  the  drama  of 
Argentina's  commerce  to  be  confined  to  a  single 
theatre.  There  must  be  more  centres  of  exchange, 
fresh  districts  for  production  and  manufacture.  If 
the  auxiliary  industries  to  corn  growing  and  cattle 
raising  were  better  fostered  there  would  be  no 
necessity  for  inland  towns  to  go  to  Buenos  Aires 
for  vegetables,  eggs,  cheese,  butter,  and  poultry. 
The  market  garden,  the  dairy,  the  poultry  farm,  the 
orchard,  and  the  auxiliary  factories  would  pour  their 
products  into  the  provincial  centres.  Local  needs 
would  be  met  locally.  The  surplus  would  be  sent 
on  with  the  grain  and  the  cattle  to  the  markets  at 
Buenos  Aires. 

These,  after  all,  are  probably  the  safest  lines  upon 
which  a  new  country  can  travel  in  her  march  to 
greater  economic  independence.  First  the  purely 
agricultural;  then  the  by-products  of  agriculture  as 
a  supplement ;  then  gradually  the  establishment  of 
whatever  manufactures  are  practicable  and  profit- 
able. For  the  present  Argentina  has  greater  need 
for  cheaper  eatables  than  for  cheaper  motor-cars. 

Countries  doing  a  big  trade  with  the  Argentine 
are  beginning  to  see  the  force  of  providing  goods  on 
the  spot.  The  crowding  of  agents  in  the  principal 
towns  has  increased  competition  to  a  point  at  which 
the  next  move  by  certain  competitors  must  be  in 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SIDE  261 

the  direction  of  producing  in  the  country  or  losing 
the  trade  entirely.  This  will  be  all  the  better  for 
Argentina.  She  has  long  had  justifiable  cause  for 
complaint  against  those  who  are  sent  to  Buenos 
Aires  and  other  parts  to  barter  for  her  trade.  A 
well-worn  lament  in  the  reports  of  the  British  Consul 
concerns  the  English  trader's  lack  of  adaptability  to 
the  peculiar  conditions  of  Argentina.  Mention  is 
made  of  quotations  in  English,  the  sending  of  repre- 
sentatives unacquainted  with  the  language  and 
business  terms  of  the  country,  the  adlierence  to 
methods  applicable  only  to  England. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  British  exporter  has  grum- 
bled at  economic  conditions  calling  for  long  and 
sometimes  exaggerated  credit ;  the  taxes  levied  on 
commercial  travellers  ;  the  difficulty  of  dealing  direct 
with  customers.  Between  the  two  points  of  view  is 
the  fact  that  commercial  enterprise  has  stopped 
with  the  arrival  of  trade  representatives  in  Buenos 
Aires. 

The  Argentine  has  already  made  shots  at  in- 
dustry building.  Tangible  signs  of  an  industrial 
future  were  visible  on  many  occasions  during  my 
tour.  Tall  and  smoking  chiimieys  and  busy  factories 
for  tinned  meats,  clothing,  and  boots  were  evidences 
of  the  start  already  made.  Before,  however,  an 
advance  can  go  towards  full  development  there  must 
be  a  more  definite  scheme  of  working,  and  a  clearer 
apprehension  of  the  end  in  view.  There  are,  for 
example,  greater  possibilities  for  brewing  and  dis- 
tilling.    A    recent    census    showed    that   these   two 


262         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

activities  engaged  about  160  factories.  Sugar,  too, 
has  proved  for  itself  that  when  worked  on  proper 
lines  it  is  a  most  profitable  industry.  Sugar-canes, 
formerly  exported  for  others  to  refine,  are  now 
refined  in  the  country,  where  the  product  finds  a 
ready  market. 

It  would  be  well-nigh  hopeless  for  Argentina  to 
attempt  the  introduction  of  industries  to  compete  in 
her  own  market  with  well-established  foreign  industries 
of  the  same  kind  without  the  aid  of  tariff  protection. 
This  might  mean  a  temporary  loss  in  revenue  by 
checking  imports ;  but  compensation  would  come 
through  the  success  of  the  home  industry.  At  the 
present  time  Argentina  exports  in  raw  wool  over 
£10,000,000  worth  annually.  She  imports  woollen 
goods  worth  nearly  £3,000,000.  Her  imports  are 
increasing  and  her  export  of  raw  material  decreasing. 
In  ten  years  the  latter  fell  considerably  in  actual 
bulk,  through  the  rush  to  make  quicker  money 
from  meat.  Meanwhile,  the  question  arises  as  to 
why  Argentina  should  not  prepare  and  manufacture 
woollen  goods  for  home  needs  ?  The  existing  market 
is  a  large  one.  Textile  industries  already  exist. 
They  are  few,  but  the  fact  that  the  number  of  estab- 
lishments has  increased  is  a  clear  proof  that  textile 
industries  can  be  profitable.  The  opportunities  here 
presented  for  the  investment  of  capital  are  invalu- 
able. There  is  room  for  new  and  increasing  enter- 
prises in  a  growing  country  with  many  years  of 
growth  before  it. 

It  is  essential  to  all  industrial  expansion  that  a 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SIDE  263 

country's  credit  should  be  good  and  its  currency 
stable,.  Argentina  is  well  off  in  this  respect.  Con- 
trasted with  some  other  American  republics,  in  which 
revolution,  revolt,  and  financial  distress  are  painfully 
frequent,  Argentina  is  a  political  and  financial  para- 
dise. This  stability,  if  not  in  itself  an  inducement 
to  the  investment  of  capital,  is  at  any  rate  a  guarantee 
that  capital  may  be  invested  with  safety.  And  in 
these  days  safety  itself  is  a  big  inducement.  Paper 
dollars  form  the  everyday  currency  of  the  country. 
Careful  provision  has  been  made  to  establish  the 
paper  in  circulation  on  a  definite  gold  basis.  Since 
the  Caja  de  Conversion,  the  Government  institution 
for  the  issue,  exchange,  and  conversion  of  the  paper 
currency,  was  established  in  1899,  the  paper  dollar 
has  always  been  worth  $.44  gold  (between  Is.  8d.  and 
Is.  9d.).  Certain  specified  resources  are  appropriated 
for  the  formation  of  a  conversion  fund,  which  guaran- 
tees the  paper  currency. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1913  there  was  a  con- 
siderable shipment  of  English  sovereigns  to  the 
Republic.  Under  the  Pellegrini  Law  passed  in  1902 
the  Caja  de  Conversion  must  hold  in  gold  an 
equivalent  to  the  paper  money  in  circulation.  In- 
deed, the  National  Conversion  Office,  the  National 
Bank  of  Argentina,  the  London  and  River  Plate 
Bank  and  other  banks  had  in  June,  1913,  an  accu- 
mulation of  gold  amounting  to  £67,188,039.  The 
gold  in  the  Caja  de  Conversion  began  with  the 
insignificant  sum  of  £568  on  December  31st,  1902 ; 
in  1904   it   was    just   over   £10,000,000;    the    next 


264         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

year  it  was  up  to  over  £18,000,000,  and  on  June 
30th,  1913,  it  was  £53,306,866. 

Argentina  has  a  number  of  well-established  banks, 
affording  many  facilities  for  the  development  of 
trade  and  industrial  enterprise.  One  of  the  princi- 
pal, the  Banco  Hipotecario  Nacional,  makes  a  feature 
of  special  loans  for  building  and  land  improvements. 
Its  loans  are  made  on  the  mortgages  of  property 
by  the  issue  of  bearer  bonds  in  lieu  of  cash  to  persons 
mortgaging  properties  to  the  bank.  It  need  not  be 
feared,  therefore,  that  industrial  enterprises  of  reason- 
able prospects  will  starve  for  the  want  of  financial 
credit  during  the  difficult  years  of  inauguration. 
On  the  contrary,  there  is  a  good  supply  of  money 
waiting  fresh  outlets.  Bankers  realise  that  it  is  to 
their  own  as  well  as  to  the  country's  advantage 
to  have  a  wide  field  of  financial  operations.  They 
have  the  money  if  others  have  the  enterprise  and 
the  initiative. 

The  point  has  now  been  reached  at  which  manu- 
factories might  well  be  harnessed  to  agriculture 
not  only  for  the  fuller  working  of  Argentina's  re- 
sources, but  for  remedying  some  of  the  social  diffi- 
culties that  have  arisen  through  her  relying  too 
much  upon  one  source  of  wealth. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE   NORTH-EAST   COUNTRY 

Although  travellers  in  the  Republic  usually  visit 
Rosario,  it  is  seldom  they  devote  much  time  to 
studying  the  full  capabilities  of  the  province  of  Santa 
Fe,  of  which  Rosario  is  the  chief  town.  Yet  Santa 
F6  and  Corrientes  to  the  north,  and  Entre  Rios  to 
the  east,  deserve  much  more  than  passing  recognition. 
Though  in  the  north  of  Santa  F6,  towards  the 
region  of  the  Chaco,  there  are  thick  forests,  the 
southern  part  is  treeless,  except  for  the  ombu,  and 
is  a  plain  with  rich  pasturage  and  soil.  Along  the 
side  of  the  province  runs  the  Parana  River,  which 
can  be  ascended  by  flat-bottomed  stern  wheel  vessels 
for  many  hundreds  of  miles  ;  and  from  ports  like 
those  of  Santa  Fe  and  Villa  Constitucion  much 
agricultural  produce  in  maize,  wheat,  linseed,  and 
barley  are  dispatched.  The  sugar  industry  is  gradu- 
ally creeping  into  Santa  Fe  province.  Nearly  fifty 
flour  mills  have  been  erected,  and  there  are  also 
sawmills,  meat  preserving  factories,  and  works  for 
quebracho  extracts.  Though  railways  are  pene- 
trating in  all  directions  through  the  province,  having 
at  the  present  time  3,000  miles  of  lines,  the  River 
Parana  is,  and  long  will  be,  the  chief  highway,  be- 
cause circumstances   in  the   old  times   led   to  the 

265 


266         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

principal  towns  being  constructed  on  its  banks,  and 
because  some  of  its  tributaries  are  also  navigable 
for  a  considerable  distance. 

The  Parana  River  stretches  away  north  into 
Corrientes.  There  are  places  with  tremendous  areas 
of  well-watered  pastures ;  but  the  farther  north  one 
journeys  the  more  the  country  becomes  swampy 
and  covered  with  heavy  forest.  The  vegetation  is 
tropical,  and  parrots  with  gay  plumage  disturb  the 
silence  of  the  woods  with  their  shrieks. 

It  is  here  that  the  forest  Indians  are  to  be  found, 
particularly  the  Tobas  and  the  Matacos.  Formerly 
the  tribes  kept  to  their  own  territory ;  but  with  the 
coming  of  the  white  man,  and  particularly  the 
importation  of  Russians,  Poles,  and  Scandinavians 
to  work  in  the  lumber  camps,  this  custom  has  gradu- 
ally been  broken  down.  The  Indians  resent  the  pre- 
sence of  the  intruders,  and  there  is  many  a  black  story 
of  massacre.  The  forest  Indians  cannot  be  induced 
to  work  in  the  hewing  of  timber,  but  missionaries 
are  doing  a  great  deal  in  persuading  them  to  take 
to  farming  and  raising  crops  of  maize  or  bananas. 

The  Indians  near  the  towns  on  the  Parana  River 
are  taking  to  wearing  European  clothes.  In  the 
time  of  the  sugar  harvest  in  the  west  they  will  work 
for  a  month  or  so,  but  on  their  tramp  back  of  several 
hundred  miles  they  frequently  fall  out  with  one 
another,  and  there  is  fierce  fighting  and  murdering 
of  which  the  outer  world  never  hears.  Far  in  the 
forests,  up  to  the  present  but  little  penetrated,  the 
Indians  are  found  in  their  original  state,  naked  save 


THE  NORTH-EAST  COUNTRY        267 

for  a  loin  cloth,  producing  fire  by  the  rubbing  ol 
sticks,  still  utilising  bows  and  arrows  in  warfare, 
and  following  the  practice  when  an  enemy  has  been 
slain  of  cutting  off  his  head  and  using  the  skull 
as  a  drinking  bowl. 

All  this  may  seem  to  suggest  that  Corrientes  is 
a  somewhat  forbidding  province,  especially  as  much 
of  its  territory  is  marshy.  For  instance.  Lake  Ibera 
and  its  marshes  covers  an  area  of  something  like 
15,000  square  miles.  The  vegetation  is  dense,  the 
climate  is  bad,  and  there  is  little  to  attract  man 
unless  he  be  a  sportsman.  But  so  vast  is  the  pro- 
vince that  there  are  wide  areas  which  are  very  pro- 
ductive, because  the  province  is  well  provided  with 
rivers  and  streams. 

There  are  in  the  province  about  5,000,000  head 
of  cattle,  over  3,000,000  sheep,  and  about  600,000 
horses.  Besides  cattle,  there  are  the  timber  trade 
and  the  sugar  industry,  also  tobacco  growing,  to  be 
counted  amongst  its  sources  of  revenue. 

It  was  only  in  1908  that  the  province  of  Entre 
Rios  entered  the  Republic.  As  will  be  gathered  from 
its  name,  the  province  lies  "  between  rivers,"  the 
Parana  and  Uruguay,  both  of  which  are  navigable 
for  many  hundreds  of  miles.  There  are  many 
smaller  rivers  which,  although  not  much  good  for 
traffic,  are  most  useful  in  watering  the  country. 
Entre  Rios  has  as  fertile  a  soil  as  will  be  found  in 
any  part  of  the  Republic.  The  country  is  more 
picturesque  than  can  be  said  of  Argentina  as  a  whole, 
and  with  its  many  farms  it  is  often  reminiscent  of 


268        THE  AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

England.  In  the  north  there  are  extensive  forests ; 
indeed,  one-fifth  of  the  province  is  covered  with 
valuable  timber.  Agricultural  products  and  live 
stock  are,  as  elsewhere,  the  chief  source  of  prosperity. 
In  the  more  pleasant  undulating  parts  of  the 
province  there  are  many  prosperous  estancias,  often 
in  the  possession  of  Englishmen.  Here,  more  than 
in  any  other  place  in  the  Republic,  are  to  be  found 
small  freeholds  owned  by  Austrian,  Poles,  Russians, 
and  Scandinavians.  The  Spanish  and  Italian  Argen- 
tines seem  to  have  left  most  of  this  area  to  north 
Europeans,  who  in  many  cases  retain  the  costumes 
of  the  countries  from  which  they  emigrated.  Form- 
erly Entre  Rios  had  a  bad  name  because  of  the 
stories  of  the  way  in  which  the  old  settlers  shot 
every  Indian  on  sight.  That,  however,  is  a  page 
now  far  back  in  the  history  of  the  land. 

Until  comparatively  recent  times  the  only  com- 
munication with  the  outer  world  was  by  means  of 
the  rivers.  Now,  as  mentioned,  Entre  Rios  has  a 
fine  railway  system.  The  capital  of  the  province, 
Parana,  is  a  happy-looking,  clean  town,  with  exquisite 
gardens  and,  of  course,  the  usual  theatre  and  band. 
Most  of  the  meat  extract  supplied  to  the  world 
by  the  Liebig  and  Bovril  companies  comes  from 
Entre  Rios.  Both  these  companies  own  great 
estancias  to  breed  cattle  for  the  purposes  of  their 
business.  Liebigs,  which  afterwards  changed  its 
name  to  Lemeo,  practically  built  the  town  of  Fray 
Bentos,  where  there  were  schools,  public  halls,  and, 
altogether,  a  model  settlement.    Subsequently,  how- 


THE  NORTH-EAST  COUNTRY        269 

ever,  the  works  were  removed  to  Colon.  The  Lemco 
company  own  eighteen  great  estates,  covering 
1,750,000  acres  with  nearly  400,000  head  of  cattle. 
The  area  of  their  estates  is  nearly  equal  to  that  of 
Kent  and  Surrey. 

It  was  as  far  back  as  1850,  long  before  the  frozen 
and  chilled  meat  trade  came  into  existence,  that 
Baron  Liebig  saw  the  possibilities,  instead  of  killing 
cattle  merely  for  hides  and  tallow,  of  boiling  down 
the  meat  for  extract.  The  first  exportation  of  80  lbs. 
was  in  1865,  and  it  was  sent  to  Germany. 

The  Bovril  company,  in  Entre  Rios  and  the  adjoin- 
ing province  of  Santa  Fe,  have  nearly  half  a  million 
acres  of  freehold  and  a  quarter  of  a  million  acres  of 
leasehold  land.  On  their  estates  they  have  about 
150,000  cattle.  Most  of  the  cattle  are  of  the  Durham 
breed.  Between  80,000  and  100,000  animals  are 
slaughtered  annually,  principally  at  Santa  Elena ; 
and  whilst  the  meat  is  sent  to  England  to  be  con- 
verted into  meat  extract,  the  hides  and  tallow  are 
dispatched  to  Buenos  Aires,  where  they  are  sold. 

Altogether  there  are  about  a  quarter  of  a  million 
beasts  slaughtered  in  Entre  Rios  each  year.  As  in 
other  parts  of  Argentina,  all  the  slaughter-houses 
are  under  Government  inspection ;  indeed,  every 
carcase  is  subjected  to  examination  before  it  is 
passed.  Entre  Rios  is  still  a  long  way  from  the  end 
of  its  journey  as  a  meat  producing  country. 


^,  CHAPTER  XXIII 

PROSPECTS   AND    PROBLEMS 

Argentina  is  a  land  without  ideals.  Religion  is  at 
a  discount,  and  as  yet  nothing  worthy  of  the  world's 
note  has  been  produced  in  art  or  literature.  There 
is  no  national  conscience.  It  is  a  country  for  money- 
making,  and,  although  I  may  have  been  unfortunate 
in  the  men  I  met,  I  encountered  few  Argentines  who 
had  thought  beyond  money. 

The  Argentines  are  a  people  numbering  seven 
millions — drawn  from  the  sturdier  sections  of  the 
Latin  race,  reinforced  by  adventurous  spirits  from 
other  races,  and  backed  by  the  finance  of  London — 
and  their  ambitions  are  large.  Argentina  is  a  country 
to  count  in  the  new  regions  devoted  to  providing  the 
food  of  the  world  ;  and  the  end  of  its  possibilities  is 
many  generations  away. 

The  travelled  Argentine  is  conscious  of  the  short- 
comings of  his  countrymen  when  engaged  in  the 
battle  of  commerce  with  men  of  other  nations.  So 
he  sees  the  need  of  a  helping  and  guiding  hand  from 
other  folk,  particularly  British.  Gradually,  however, 
other  countries  are  getting  their  fingers  into  the  pie  : 
Germany  and  France.  The  United  States  is  making 
a  big  endeavour,  but,  though  the  North  Americans 

270 


PROSPECTS  AND  PROBLEMS         271 

lack  nothing  in  energy,  they  have  completely  failed 
to  win  the  confidence  of  the  Argentines. 

Yet  the  educated  Argentine  feels,  as  foreigners  are 
quick  to  notice,  that  the  amalgam  of  races,  with  the 
Italian  leavening  the  whole,  is  creating  a  new  people. 
The  Argentine  lad  is  quick-witted  and  adaptable,  and 
he  is  alert  to  learn  the  ways  of  the  foreigner.  So, 
though  it  is  true  enough  that  you  find  Englishmen  at 
the  head  of  many  of  the  great  concerns,  the  Argentine 
is  pushing  his  way  in  and  sometimes  beating  the 
foreigner  at  his  own  game. 

The  new  spirit  is  revealed  in  the  way  the  young 
Argentine  is  taking  to  sport  besides  horse-racing  : 
rowing,  tennis,  and  particularly  football.  As  every 
child  born  in  the  Republic  is  by  law  an  Argentine, 
it  is  subject  for  notice  that  many  young  English 
fellows  native  born  are  more  Argentine  than  those 
of  Spanish  and  Italian  parentage.  It  is  inevitable 
that,  proportionately,  the  strictly  Spanish  population 
will  decrease.  But  the  Spanish  language  remains. 
It  has  a  hold  in  the  Western  continent  from  Mexico 
to  Patagonia. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  accomplished, 
one  has  only  to  look  at  a  map  to  realise  this  region 
is  to  be  the  home  for  the  overflow  of  Latin  Europe, 
and  that  the  scope  of  commerce  at  present  is  slight 
compared  with  its  probable  dimensions  within  a  few 
years.  Having  some  acquaintance  with  the  great 
business  countries  of  the  world,  I  say  unreservedly 
that  if  I  had  a  son,  and  intended  to  put  him  into 
commerce  in  the  hope  of  his  making  a  fortune  quickly, 


272         THE   AMAZING    ARGENTINE 

I  would  have  him  taught  Spanish  and  send  him  to 
South  America. 

However,  there  is  a  slowly  accumulating  public 
opinion  that  Argentina  can  do  without  the  foreigner, 
that  the  hour  is  coming  when  she  should  no  longer 
be  exploited  in  order  that  large  dividends  be  paid 
to  investors  who  live  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
There  is  a  sort  of  sub-conscious  feeling  that  it  is  the 
genius  of  the  Argentines  themselves  which  accounts 
for  the  sunshine,  the  rich  soils,  the  general  pro- 
ductivity. Evidence  of  that  state  of  mind  can  be 
found  in  other  countries  besides  Argentina.  Yet, 
though  it  is  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer  of 
the  world's  conditions  that  Argentina  must  wax  in 
strength  and  become  increasingly  independent,  it 
is  clear  that  were  she  to  attempt  to  stand,  far 
less  run,  alone  she  would  come  a  tremendous 
cropper. 

The  pride  of  the  Argentine  has  to  be  reckoned  upon. 
The  nation  recalls  its  decrepit  past ;  it  sees  the 
abundant  blossom  of  the  present ;  it  eyes  are  large 
when  viewing  the  future.  It  declines  to  confound 
its  destiny  with  any  other  South  American  Republic. 
For  its  northern  neighbour  Brazil,  Portuguese  and 
negro  in  population,  it  has  a  scorn  which  raises  a 
smile  on  the  lips  of  the  outsider. 

It  resents  the  patronage  of  the  United  States. 
When  the  States  preaches  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  and 
announces  it  will  not  allow  any  European  Power  to 
acquire  fresh  territory  on  the  American  continent, 
Argentina  says  :   "  It  is  very  kind  of  you,  but  we  do 


PROSPECTS  AND  PROBLEMS         273 

not  require  your  help  ;  we  are  quite  capable  of  look- 
ing after  ourselves." 

Behind  this  is  the  belief  that  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
is  but  a  design  to  permit  the  United  States  to  become 
the  ruling  factor  in  American  higher  politics,  if  not 
to  extend  her  sphere  of  authority  the  entire  length 
of  the  continent.  The  manner  in  which  the  United 
States  got  possession  of  territory  in  Central  America 
in  order  to  construct  the  Panama  Canal  rankles  in 
the  minds  of  Argentines,  as  it  does  in  the  minds  of 
most  other  South  Americans.  Bitter  though  the 
feeling  is  between  rival  South  American  States,  they 
are  at  one  in  their  resentpient  of  United  States 
patronage. 

Occasionally,  United  States  Ministers  of  high  posi- 
tion travel  south,  and  beat  the  pan-American  drum. 
They  are  received  politely,  but  there  is  chilliness  in  the 
courtesy.  In  blunt  truth  these  Republics — be  they 
right  or  be  they  wrong  in  surmise — do  not  trust  the 
United  States.  I  think  I  am  well  within  the  facts 
when  I  state  that  there  is  an  agreement  between 
Argentina,  Brazil,  and  Chili — known  as  the  A.B.C. 
combination — to  take  common  action  if  there  is  any 
step  south  of  the  Panama  isthmus  savouring  of 
aggression  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 

Both  in  Argentina  and  Brazil,  when  I  conversed 
with  public  men,  I  was  given  clearly  to  understand 
how  deep-seated  is  this  dislike  of  the  United  States. 
There  is  annoyance  at  the  manner  in  which  President 
Woodrow  Wilson  has  lectured  the  Latin  Republics 
of  America  for  granting  concessions  to  European 
s 


274         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

syndicates  for  the  development  of  their  countries. 
President  Wilson  laid  it  down  that  the  growth  of 
foreign  interests  in  these  Republics  was  unwhole- 
some, because  they  were  sure  to  influence  the  political 
life  ;  therefore,  he  said,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  United 
States  to  assist  in  emancipating  them  from  such 
subordination.  This  was  a  considerable  extension  of 
the  Monroe  Doctrine.  The  much-preached  creed  that 
the  United  States  will  not  tolerate  any  other  Power 
acquiring  territory  in  the  Western  hemisphere  had 
been  expanded  to  mean  that  the  United  States  is 
going  to  use  its  influence  to  free  the  Latin  Republics 
from  being  under  obligation  to  European  countries 
which  have  given  their  millions  of  gold  towards 
making  those  Republics  commercially  prosperous 
which,  so  far  as  financial  assistance  from  the  United 
States  counts,  would  have  remained  practically 
undeveloped.  At  the  latter  end  of  1913  Mr.  Page, 
United  States  Ambassador  to  Great  Britain,  stated 
at  a  public  dinner  that  President  Wilson  was  deter- 
mined to  assert  the  principle  that  no  sort  of  Euro- 
pean financial  or  industrial  control  could,  with  the 
consent  of  the  United  States,  be  got  over  the  weak 
nations  of  America  so  far  as  this  control  affected 
political  influence. 

What  European  countries  think  about  this  atti- 
tude of  the  United  States  in  practically  warning  off 
European  financiers  if  the  investments  or  concessions 
have  an  influence  over  politics — which,  of  course, 
they  must  have  in  all  trading  countries — it  is  not 
for  me  to  discuss  here.     But  this  over-lordship,  this 


PROSPECTS  AND  PROBLEMS         275 

placing  of  the  Latin  Republics  in  a  position  of  tutelage 
to  the  great  Republic  of  the  north,  is  denounced  and 
repudiated  by  every  Latin  American  public  man. 

I  quite  agree  that  it  would  be  better  for  countries 
like  Argentina  and  Brazil  if  they  were  not  so  dependent 
on  the  foreign  capitalist.  That  is  a  view  held  by 
probably  the  majority  of  South  Americans  themselves. 
But  they  are  not  going  to  accept  dictation  from  the 
United  States,  especially  as  they  know  that  United 
States  financiers  and  syndicates  are  not  only  endea- 
vouring to  control  the  meat  trade  of  Argentina,  but 
within  the  last  year  or  so  have  been  engaged  in 
gigantic  negotiations  to  secure  ultimately  a  con- 
trolling voice  in  many  of  the  most  important  railway 
concerns. 

In  the  Brazilian  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  December 
of  1918,  Senor  Pedro  Moacyr  questioned  whether, 
even  should  the  United  States  spare  Brazil  the  fate 
meted  out  to  Colombia,  in  regard  to  setting  up  the 
baby  Republic  of  Panama  so  that  the  North  Americans 
could  construct  the  Panama  Canal,  Brazil  would 
accept  the  tutelage  over  Latin  America  which  Presi- 
dent Wilson,  improving  on  the  imperialism  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt  himself,  and  yet  further  accentuating  the 
disquieting  deviations  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  had 
proclaimed  ?  What  it  came  to  was,  said  Senor 
Moacyr,  "  that  the  Latin  Republics  are  no  longer  to 
have  the  right  to  grant  to  foreigners  such  concessions 
and  privileges  as  it  may  suit  them  to  grant,  and, 
under  pretext  of  preserving  them  from  a  problem- 
atical European  imperialism,  the  United  States  will 


276         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

subject  them  to  its  own  domination  and  control. 
What,  in  this  case,  becomes  of  the  integrity  and 
sovereignty  of  Latin  America  for  which  the  great 
Republic  displays  so  much  solicitude  ?  More  and 
more  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  new  style,  displays  this 
manifest  tendency :  America  for  the  United  States. 
.  .  .  Will  the  great  Latin  Republics  be  willing  to 
submit  to  this  American  control,  and  subordinate 
their  foreign  policy  and  their  economic  orientation 
to  the  views  and  interests  of  Washington  ?  We  do 
not  believe  it." 

It  is  only  right  that  United  States  financiers 
should  receive  privileges  the  same  as  are  accorded 
to  the  financiers  of  other  countries ;  but  such  a 
pronouncement  as  that  of  President  Wilson  only 
intensifies  the  distrust  of  South  Americans,  so  that 
when  looking  beyond  their  own  frontiers  for  money 
they  are  more  disposed  to  direct  their  gaze  across 
the  Atlantic  than  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
What  may  be  taken  as  quite  certain  is  that  the  big 
Latin  Republics  have  sufficient  confidence  in  them- 
selves to  refuse  to  accept  any  lectures  from  North 
Americans. 

Coming  late  into  the  field  the  United  States  is 
now  making  strenuous  endeavours  to  increase  its 
trade  with  Argentina.  Operations  in  regard  to  rail- 
ways, and  creating  a  meat  monopoly  in  the  hands 
of  Chicago  firms,  provide  the  most  striking  proof. 
In  regard  to  the  creation  of  a  meat  trust,  there  is 
now  a  Bill  before  the  Argentine  Parliament  providing 
that  any  contract  relating  to  commerce  or  transport 


PROSPECTS  AND  PROBLEMS         277 

affecting  the  price  to  the  consumer  of  articles  of  prime 
necessity  is  illegal.  Those  who  form  the  trust  can, 
under  this  measure,  be  punished  for  misdemeanour, 
and  directors  of  companies  or  associations  will  be 
held  personally  responsible,  and  on  repetition  of  the 
offence  their  companies  or  associations  dissolved  and 
effects  confiscated. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  a  great  American 
railway  scheme  to  link  up  the  railway  lines  in  Argen- 
tina and  Brazil  with  a  line  running  through  the 
Republics  right  up  to  New  York,  making  a  track 
over  10,000  miles  in  length  and  involving  the  build- 
ing of  nearly  3,700  more  miles  of  line.  The  British 
Consul-General  at  Buenos  Aires,  Mr.  Mackie,  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  British  Consular 
service,  says,  in  regard  to  this  pan- American  railway 
enterprise  :  "It  would  seem  that  out  of  the  3,648 
miles  of  railway  over  which  it  was  sought  to  acquire 
control,  only  1,906  miles  needed  for  carrying  out 
the  scheme  in  Argentina  have  been  acquired  up  to 
the  present.  This  untoward  circumstance  must  of 
necessity  substantially  increase  the  original  estimates 
of  the  mileage  needed  for  linking  up  the  railway 
systems  of  the  Republics  lying  between  Buenos  Aires 
and  New  York.  The  dominion  of  the  American 
controlled  enterprise  is  not  apparently  to  be  con- 
fined to  the  narrow  limits  of  railway  undertakings, 
but  it  would  seem  that  a  lengthy  list  of  subsidiary 
companies  has  been  grouped  with  the  syndicate,  in 
whose  London  offices  appear  to  be  centred  a  South 
American  lumber  company,  three  development  and 


278         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

colonisation  companies,  a  Para  rubber  company,  a 
port  company,  two  navigation  companies,  a  tram- 
way company,  light  and  power  company,  and  an 
hotel  company." 

With  such  endeavours  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  to  extend  its  power  in  the  south,  it  is  the  obvious 
commercial  duty  of  Great  Britain  not  only  to  take 
stock  of  what  is  happening,  but  to  take  steps  to 
meet  it.  When  I  was  in  Buenos  Aires  I  was  glad  to 
hear  of  the  formation  of  a  British  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. Hitherto  English  people  with  interests  in 
Argentina  have  worked  independently  and  sometimes 
in  rivalry.  Of  course,  wholesome  rivalry  should  con- 
tinue ;  but  there  are  occasions  when  the  British 
commercial  community  should  act  in  concert,  and 
the  creation  of  the  British  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
with  Sir  Reginald  Tower,  the  British  Minister,  giving 
it  his  active  patronage,  should  be  of  immense  advan- 
tage. ^-^ 

But  all  foreigners,  be  they  British,  German,  French, 
or  belonging  to  the  United  States,  must  recognise  the 
ambition  of  the  Argentines  ultimately  to  do  without 
them  and  to  "  run  the  show  "  for  themselves. 

The  nationality  of  Argentina  is  not  founded  on 
tradition ;  it  comes  from  the  fervour  of  self-appre- 
ciation. Despite  the  growth  of  Socialism  in  the  ports 
the  country  gives  unprecedented  scope  for  individual 
daring — gambling  on  the  future  if  you  like.  The 
doors  are  open  to  all  the  races  of  Europe  to  become 
Argentines.  The  terror  of  Asiatic  labour,  which 
roubles    some    other    new    countries,  will    be  slain 


PROSPECTS  AND  PROBLEMS         279 

by  the  readiness  with  which  all  Europeans  are  re- 
ceived, be  they  Russians  or  Turks.     By  marriage  the 
race  is  a  jumble  of  Spanish,  natives,  Italians,  and 
northern  Europeans.     In  North  America  a  man  or 
a  woman  with  a  drop  of  black  blood  is  called  "  a 
nigger."     Unlike   Brazil,   there   are   few   negroes   in 
Argentina ;     but   many   of  the   best   families   have 
native  Indian  blood  in  their  veins.     In  South  America 
a  half-caste,  a  mestizo,  is  always  counted  as  a  white. 
Thus  there  are  no  race  prejudices  such  as  are  to  be 
found  in  so  democratic  a  country  as  the  United  States. 
Yet  there  is  no  new  country  where  there  is  such 
a  gap  between  one  section  of  the  population  and  the 
other.     I  ascribe  the  scanty  intellectual  life  of  the 
Argentine  to  the  big  break  between  the  plutocracy 
and  the  labouring  classes.     The  poor  immigrant  has 
an  enormous  struggle  to  raise  himself  above  the  con- 
dition of  a  serf.     There  are  plenty  of  exceptions,  but 
notwithstanding  this  the  statement  holds  good.     To 
those  who  have  wealth,  money  to  play  with,  increase 
in  possession  comes  rapidly.     There  is  little  scope 
for  the  salary-earning  middle  class — a  most  valuable 
class   in   all   communities — and,   though   wages   are 
high  according  to  European  standards,  the  advance 
is  not  so  great  when  the  heavy  cost  of  living  is  borne 
in  mind. 

So  far  I  have  endeavoured  fairly  to  picture  Argen- 
tina as  it  is.  It  would  be  idle  not  to  count  the  dis- 
advantages along  with  the  merits  of  the  land.  I  did 
not  go  to  South  America  with  any  preconceived  ideas, 
but  to  see  what  I  could  and  write  about  what  I  saw 


28o         THE   AMAZING   ARGENTINE 

and  learnt.  It  has  not  benefits  for  poor  agricul- 
turists such  as  Canada  offers,  though  the  Hfe  is  more 
pleasant.  Out  on  the  plains  the  climate  is  splendid. 
It  is  not  a  country  for  the  clerk  whose  knowledge  of 
Spanish  is  nil. 

But  it  is  an  amazing  country  nevertheless.  For 
ages  it  has  been  lying  in  the  womb  of  Time.  It  has 
just  been  born,  and  its  growth  is  one  of  the  wonders 
of  the  world.  Its  inhabitants  are  quickly  adapting 
themselves  to  modern  needs.  The  revolutionary  days 
are  of  the  past.  It  has  millions  of  acres  under  the 
power  of  man ;  it  has  many  millions  more  awaiting 
population.  It  is  crying  out  for  population.  And 
great  steamers  from  Spain  and  from  Italy  are  driving 
southwards  over  the  line  of  the  Equator  carrying  what 
Argentina  needs.  She  receives  nearly  three  hundred 
thousand  new  arrivals  annually.  And  within  a 
couple  of  years  most  of  them  become  Argentine 
citizens. 


INDEX 


"  A.B.C."  combination,  273 
Abattoirs,   model,   at   Linlers, 

129 
Aconcagua,  89 
Agrarian  and  veterinary  school, 

Santa  Catalina,  80 
Agricultural  banks,  proposed 

establishment  of,  188 
Agricultural  defence,  depart- 
ment of,  61 
Agricultural  land,   extent  of 

uncultivated,  77 
Agricultural  produce,  and  the 

railways,  137 
"  Agricultural  smalls,"  243 
Agriculture,     education     for 

"colonists"  in,  56-60;  condi- 
I  tions  of,  190 ;  prospects  of,  198 ; 

possibilities  of  development  of, 

257 
Alfalfa,  development  and  cul- 
tivation of,   69  ;    imrportance 

of,  69,  116  ;   value  of,  194-7  ; 

reputed    influence    on    water 

level  of,  233 
Alpaca,  the,  116 
Alta     Gracia,    excursions    to, 

143,     165;      golf     at,     172; 

races  at,  172-5 
Andes,   the,   89 ;   the   railway, 

and,  147,  215,  et  seq. 
Anthrax,     the     gaucho     and, 

230 
Arboriculture,  school    for,  at 

Tucuman,  59 
S* 


Argentina,  possibilities  of,  4  ; 
railway  development  in,  43-51 ; 
land  question  in,  52-62  ;  call 
for  population,  53  ;  value  of 
exportations  of,  60 ;  and 
world's  food  supplies,  63,  et 
seq.  ;  production  of  food  sup- 
plies in,  61-71,  244  ;  constitu- 
tution  of  government,  methods 
of  taxation,  etc.,  72-88  ;  char- 
acteristics of,  89,  et  seq.  ; 
from  the  British  immigrant's 
point  of  view,  43 ;  wheat 
production  of,  186,  et  seq. ; 
immigration  laws  and  regula- 
tions, 203,  223,  et  seq.  ;  the 
Jews  and,  237-41  ;  indigenous 
fauna  of,  244  ;  and  industries, 
257,  et  seq  ;  credit  of,  263  ; 
as  overflow  of  Latin  Europe, 
271  ;  and  foreign  capital, 
275  ;   possibilities  of,  278-9 

"  Argentina  from  a  British 
Point  of  View,"  by  C.  P. 
Ogilvie,  197 

Argentine  Agricultural  Society, 
120  ;  cattle-breeding  and,  121; 
and  railway  tariffs,  137 

Argentine  Club  at  Bahia 
Blanca,  177 

Argentine  Railway  Company, 
153 

Argentine  Transandine  Rail- 
way absorbed  by  the  Buenos 
Aires  and  Pacific,  145 


282 


INDEX 


Argentines,  the,  wealth  and 
pride  of,  5,  6,  7,  20,  22-23  ; 
source  of  wealth  of,  24  ;  social 
life  of,  29  ;  extravagance  of, 
32 ;  moods  of,  32-3  ;  char- 
acteristics of,  38-40,  270-2; 
ambition  of,  58 

Australia  and  wheat  supply, 
186-7 

Austria  and  frozen  meat,  127 

AvENiDA  Alvear,  "  B.A.,"  30 

Avon,  the,  19,  54 

"  B.A."     See  Buenos  Ayres 

Bahia,  11 

Bahia  Blanca,  43  ;  commercial 
school  at,  79  ;  grain  elevators 
at,  70 ;  Buenos  Aires  and 
Pacific  Railway  at,  145 ; 
natural  harbour,  at,  176 ; 
growth  of,  176-7  ;  land  values 
at,  177  ;  life  in,  177  ;  railways 
at,  178  ;  shipments  from,  178  ; 
Victoria  wool  market  at,  180  ; 
and  the  pampas,  181 

Bahia  Blanca  and  North- West- 
ern Railway,  absorbed  by  the 
Buenos  Aires  and  Pacific,  145 

Banco  Hipotecario  Nacional, 
and  loans  for  building,  etc., 
264 

Banks,  licences  for,  82  ;  and  gold 
reserve,  263 

Belgrano,  "  B.A."  British 
colony  at,  27 

Belle  Ville,  dairy  school  at,  60 

Betting  regulations,  28 

Benitz  Colony,  forestry  school, 
in  the,  61 

Birds,  curious,  92 

BovRiL,  15  ;  and  meat  extract 
trade,  159 ;  cattle-breeding 
station  of,  268-9 


Brassey,  Thomas,  and  first 
Argentine  railway,  139 

Brazil,  agricultural  riches  of,  4  ; 
gambling  in,  12  ;  and  Argen- 
tine cattle,  128 ;  reported 
coal  mines  in,  155  ;  dislike  of 
United  States  in,  273,  275 

Brewing,  possible  development 
of,  261 

"  Bridge  of  the  Incas,"  219 

British  capital  in  Argentina,  7, 
21,  24,  43,  46,  123  ;  in  rail- 
ways, 134 

British  Chamber  of  Commerce 
at  Buenos  Aires,  278 

British  immigrants,  possibili- 
ties of  sheep  rearing  for, 
183 

British  trade  and  Argentina, 
260-1 

British  trade  methods,  futility 
of,  85 

Buenos  Aires,  arrival  at,  20  ; 
business  of,  22-3  ;  the  streets 
of,  25 ;  hotels  of,  26  ;  ex- 
pensiveness  of,  26  ;  railways 
in,  27  ;  Jockey  Club  of,  28 ; 
Colon  Theatre  at,  28 ;  im- 
morality of,  29;  irreligion  of, 
29 ;  showiness  of,  30,  32  ; 
"  Las  Damas  da  Eeneficencia," 
34  ;  foundling  hospital  at,  35  ; 
the  Recoleta,  36 ;  as  capital, 
37  ;  population  and  character- 
istics of,  41 ;  fascination  of,  42 ; 
immigrants'  accommodation 
at,  53  ;  land  values  in,  65  ; 
slaughter-houses  at,  70 ; 
senators  from,  73  ;  national 
and  normal  schools  in,  78 ; 
university  at,  78  ;  shallowness 
of  river  at,  90  ;  regulations 
against   dogs  in,   98 ;    varia- 


INDEX 


283 


tions  of  climate  in,  102-3 ; 
offices  of  Argentine  Agricul- 
tural Society  at,  120  ;  Jockey 
Club  at,  123  ;  frozen  meat 
works  at,  124 ;  population 
and  meat  demands  of,  129  ; 
sheep  market  at,  130 ;  rail- 
ways from,  141  ;  the  Retiro 
station  at,  142-3 ;  suburban 
traffic  of,  143,  151  ;  B.A.  and 
P.  high  level  line  at,  145  ; 
railway  connection  with  Val- 
paraiso from,  146-7  ;  Mar  del 
Plata  and,  151  ;  cost  of 
living  in,  241-2  ;  increase  of 
shipping  trade  of,  244  ;  labour 
unrest  in,  258  ;  British  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  at,  278 

Buenos  Aires  and  Pacific  Rail- 
way, returns  of,  140  ;  growth 
and  revenue  of,  145  ;  Light 
and  Power  Co.  in  connection 
with,  145  ;  port  accommoda- 
tion at  Bahia  Blanca,  145 ; 
high  level  line  to  Buenos 
Aires,  145 ;  reclamation  of 
land  from  River  Plate  by,  146  ; 
transcontinental  traffic,  146-7; 
Transandine  line,  148  ;  snow 
protection  on,  148  ;  prospects 
of,  149 ;  Mr.  Guy  Calthrop 
and,  149  ;  at  Bahia  Blanca 
178  ;  at  Puerta  Galvan,  179 

Buenos  Aires-Rosario  Railway, 
141-2 

Buenos  Aires  Province,  popu- 
lation of,  63 ;  five  years 
drought  in,  90  ;  cattle  raising 
in,  130  ;  cereal  growing  dis- 
trict of,  152  ;  Hirsch  Jewish 
colony  in,  238 

Caja   de   Conversion,  effect   on 


credit  of,  263  ;  gold  reserve  of, 
263 

Calthrop,  Mr.  Guy,  and  Buenos 
Aires  and  Pacific  Railway, 
149-50 

"  Camp  "  life  in,  67,  223,  el  seq. 

Camp  towns,  ugliness  of,  226 

Canada  and  wheat  supply,  186 

Cattle,  introduction  of,  by 
Spaniards,  95,  117 ;  wild 
herds  of,  95,  117  ;  wild  dogs 
and,  97 ;  improvement  and 
increase  of,  99 ;  numbers  of, 
122 ;  and  importation  em- 
bargo in  England,  130-1 

Cattle-breeding,  66-7 ;  im- 
portation of  bloodstock  for, 
118  ;  improvements  in,  120  ; 
Argentine  Agricultural  Society 
and,  120-2 

Cattle  disease,  prevalence  of, 
69 

Central  Argentine  Railway, 
returns  of,  140  ;  growth  of 
141-2  ;  electrification  of,  145  ; 
suburban  traffic,  143 ;  ex- 
cursions on,  143  ;  goods  and 
agricultural  traffic  of,  144 ; 
irrigation  scheme  of,  144  ; 
extension  of,  144-5  ;  weekly 
receipts  of,  145  ;  works  of  at 
Rosario,  156  ;  excursions  to 
Alta  Gracia,  165 

Central  Cordoba  Railway,  153 

Cereals,  value  of  exportation 
of,  67  ;  low  yield  of,  70 

Chaco,  the,  swamps  of,  91  ; 
Indians  of,  91 

Chamber  of  Deputies,  constitu- 
tion of,  73  ;  qualifications  of 
candidates  and  members  of, 
73 ;  salary  of  members  of, 
74  ;   Socialism  in,  75 


284 


INDEX 


Chicago  and  Argentine  chilled 
meat  trade,  68 

"  Chico,"  212,  213 

Chili,  nitrates  of,  4  ;  railway 
communication  with,  146-7, 
149  ;  leprosy  in,  246 

"  Chilled  "  meat  compared 
with  "  frozen,"  125 

Chilled  meat  trade,  American 
attempts  to  capture,  68 ;  ex- 
tension of,  126 

Christ,  statue  of,  on  Chilian 
boundary,  148 

Chubut,  Welsh  colony  at,  225 

Citizenship,  qualifications  for,  77 

Clarke,  Mr.  Percy,  and  Great 
Southern  Railway,  152 

Climate,  variations  of,  89, 
102-3 

Coal,  lack  of,  and  importation 
of,  83  ;  possible  supply  from 
Brazil,  155 

Coal  Strike,  effect  in  Argentine 
of,  243 

Colon  Theatre,  the,  gala  per- 
formance at,  29 

"  Colonists,"  system  of,  54 ; 
and  storekeeper,  55  ;  position 
of,  55  ;  agricultural  education 
for,  56-8  ;  difficulties  of,  225 

Columbus  and  his  discovery,!,  5 

Commerce,  German  and  British 
competition  for,  84-5 

Comodora  Rivadavia,  govern- 
ment reservation  on  petroleum 
zone  of,  243 

Condor,  the,  245 

Cordillera  of  the  Andes,  rail- 
way and,  147 

Cordoba,  live-stock  school  at, 
58,  59 ;  university  at,  78 ; 
commercial  school  at,  79. 

Cordoba,  and  Central  Argentine 


Railway,  144 ;  position  and 
population  of,  158 ;  univer- 
sity of,  159,  162  ;  social  life 
of,  160-1 ;  opera  perform- 
ances at,  161  ;  cathedral  of, 
163  ;  relics  at  Jesuit  church 
in,  163  ;  British  flag  in  church 
at,  164 ;  schools  at,  164 ; 
observatory  at,  165 ;  excur- 
sions to  Alta  Gracia  from,  165 

Cordoba  and  Rosario  Railway, 
153 

Cordoba  Central  Buenos  Aires 
Extension  Railway,  153 

Cordoba  Central  Railway,  ex- 
tension of,  153 

Cordoba  Province,  locusts  in, 
61  ;  cattle  raising  in,?130. 

Corrientes  Province,  Indians 
of,  266;    resources  of,  267 

Dairying,  Regional  Schools  in, 
60 

DE  Costa,  Seiiora  C6sar,  and 
statue  of  Christ,  148 

DE  Guzman,  Ruy  Diaz,  and  in- 
troduction of  horses,  49 

DE  Mendoza,  Don  Pedro,  and 
introduction  of  horses,  120 

Deputy,  salary  of,  74 

Devolution  in  Government,  75 

Direccion-General  de  Ferro- 
carrilcs,  49 

Distilling,  possible  develop- 
ment of,  261 

Dogs,  wild,  and  cattle,  97  ;  ex- 
termination of,  97  ;  stringent 
regulations  against,  98 

"  Door  of  Hell,  The,"  2 

Drought,  evils  of,  60,  70 ; 
severity  of,  90 

Duties  on  manufactured  ar- 
ticles, 82 


INDEX 


285 


Earthquakes  in  Mendoza,  201 
Education,  in  agricultural  sub- 
jects,     57  -  60  ;       "  regional 
schools "     60 ;     divisions    of 
system  of,  77  ;    religious  in- 
struction and,  77  ;  secondary, 
78  ;   university,  78  ;   authori- 
ties     of,      78-9 ;       intuitive 
method     of,     79 ;      national 
scholarships,  81  ;    complaints 
upon  methods  of,  81 
Engineer  White,  Port  of,  178-9 
England  and  chilled  meat  trade, 

68 
English   immigrant,   prospects 

of,  43,  224 
Englishmen      and     Argentine 

prospects,  100-2 
Entre    Rios    Province,    cattle 
raising  in,  130  ;   resources  of, 
267  ;  foreign  small  freeholders 
in,    268 ;     railways   in,   268 ; 
Liebig  and  Bovril  ranches  in, 
268-9 
Entre  Rios  Railway,  153 
"  Estancieros,"  profits  of,  60 
"  EsTANCiAS,"  extent  and  equip- 
ment of,  66 

"  Fakes  "  in  trade,  108-9 

Farming,  profits  and  possibili- 
ties of,  60-2  ;  equipment  for, 
66 ;  slovenly  methods  of, 
192 

"  Farquhar  Group "  of  Rail- 
ways, 152 

Farquhar,  Mr.  Percival,  and 
railway  extension,  152 

Fauna,  92-4,  116-7,  244 

FisHERTON,  Rosario,  156 

Floods,  dangers  and  extent  of, 
90 

Florida,  thf,  "  B.A."  25 


FooT-AND-MouTH  disease,  and 
exportation  of  cattle,  124 

Forestry,  school  for  instruction 
in,  61 

France  and  frozen  meat,  127, 
133 

Fraudulent  trade  descriptions, 
108-9 

"  Frozen  Meat "  compared  with 
"  chilled,"  125 ;  methods  of 
freezing,  124-5 

Frozen  meat  industry,  22-3 ; 
influence  of  railways  on,  43, 
51  ;  value  of  exportation  of, 
67;  growth  of,  70-1,  123, 
126-7  ;  establishment,  123  ; 
and    England,    123-4  ; 

Fruit  culture,  school  for,  60 

Gambling,  on  steamer,  12;  at 
Alta  Gracia,  169 

Gaucho,  and  horse-racing,  172-4, 
228  ;  effect  of  civilisation  on, 
227 ;  duties  of,  229 ;  and 
anthrax,  230 ;  as  shepherd, 
232 

Gautier,  Prof.  Armand,  on 
frozen  meat,  127 

German-Argentine  Society  and 
frozen  meat,  127 

German  influence  in  commerce 
84 

Gold  reserve  of  banks,  263 

Golf  at  Buenos  Aires,  27 ;  at 
Alta  Gracia,  172. 

Government,  Constitution  of 
72  et  seq 

Government  House, "  B.A.,"  37 

Grain  elevators,  at  Engineer 
Wliite,  179  ;  at  Puerta  Gal- 
van,  180 

Great  Britain,  and  importa- 
tion   embargo    on    Argentine 


286 


INDEX 


cattle,  130-1  ;  and  Argentine 
railways,  139  ;  and  Argentine 
foodstuffs,  193 

Great  Southern  Railway,  re- 
turns of,  140 ;  Light  and 
Power  Co.  of,  145  ;  extent  of, 
150;  increase  of  passenger 
traffic  on,  150  ;  Mar  de  Plata 
service  of,  151  ;  goods  and 
live  stock  traffic,  151  ;  capital 
and  receipts  of,  152 ;  Mr. 
Percy  Clarke  and,  152 ;  at 
Bahia  Blanca,  178  ;  Port  of 
Engineer  Wliite,  178 

GuANACO,  The,  245 

HiRSCH,  Baron,  colonisation 
scheme  of,  237 

Horse  breeding,  excellence  of, 
65-6  ;   development  of,  123 

Horse,  first  introduction  of, 
119  ;   increase  of,  119,  122 

Horse-racing,  at  Palermo,  28  ; 
universality  of,  107,  122  ;  at 
Alta  Gracia,  172-4 ;  the 
Gaucho  and,  228-9 

Hudson,  W.  H.,  "  The  Natural- 
ist in  La  Plata,"  93 

HURLINGHAM,  "  B.A.,"  27 

Ibera,  Lake,  267 
Immigrants,    Italians    as,    10, 

25,  53,  224  ;   nationalities  of, 

63  ;  typical  English,  109-10  ; 

and  political  agitation,  241 
Immigration,  inducements  for, 

53  ;   organisation  of,  203,  223 
Inca,  43 
Indians,  of  Chaco  district,  91  ; 

and  horse  and  cattle  stealing, 

98  ;    of  Corrientes,  266 
Industrial  school,  methods  at, 

80 


Irrigation,  Government  work 
in,  60  ;  results  of,  116  ;  State 
and  railway  works  for,  144, 
150  ;  in  Mendoza,  208-9  ;  in 
sugar  district,  253 

Italians,  as  immigrants,  10,  25, 
53  ;    preponderance  of,  224 

Italy  and  frozen  meat,  127,  133 

Iraola,  Seiior  Pereyra,  and 
champion  bull,  152 

Jerked  beef,  trade  in,  128 
Jesu  Maria,  sanatorium  of,  160 
Jewish     Colonisation     Society, 

the,  237,  238 
Jews,   and   wheat   market,   23, 
55  ;  population  of,  236  ;  agri- 
cultural colonics  of,  237-40 
Jockey  Club  of  Buenos  Aires, 

28,  123 
Juan  de  Rivadancira,  Fray,  and 
introduction  of  horses,  120 

Kindergarten  at  Mendoza,  205 

Labour,     conditions     of,     54 ; 

scarcity      of,     on     eslancias, 

243,  252  ;  influence  of  scarcity 

of,  on  industrial  development, 

257 
Labour    question    at    Rosario, 

154-5 
Labour  troubles,  frequency  of, 

84  ;    in   Buenos   Aires,   258 ; 
Land,  profits  on  sale  of,  47,  53, 

64-5  ;    ownership  and  labour 

on,  52  et  seq. ;    conditions  of 

ownership  in,  188-9 
Land  values,  65  ;    at  Rosario, 

157  ;    at   Bahia  Blanca,  177  ; 

in  Mendoza,  204 
La  Plata,  19  ;    description  of, 

36-8 ;     slaughter-houses    at 


INDEX 


287 


70  ;  university  at,  78 ;  and 
frozen  meat  trade,  124 

"  La  Prensa,"  offices  of,  41 

Las  Damas  da  Bcneflcencia,  34 

Latin  American,  Spanish  im- 
migrants to,  2  ;  range  of,  3  ; 
possibilities  of,  4  ;  riclies  of,  5 

Latin  immigrants  at  Rosario, 
154 ;  as  farmers,  193 

Latin  races,  as  emigrants,  3,  9, 
25,  53 ;  as  seen  in  Soutii 
America,  24,  59 

Leprosy  in  Soutli  America,  246 

Licences  for  business,  82 

LiEBia  Co.,  and  meat  extract 
trade,  129,  269  ;  cattle-breed- 
ing station  of,  268 

LiNiERS,  slaughter-houses  at, 
129 

Linseed,  Argentina's  produc- 
tion of,  191 

Live  stock,  value  of  cxporta- 
tions  of,  60,  67  ;  and  importa- 
tion embargo  in  Britain,  131 

Llama,  the,  116 

Lloyd  George,  Mr.,  and  Ar- 
gentina, 24 

Locusts,  depredations  of,  61, 
70,  233  ;  and  sugar  districts, 
254 

London  and  River  Plate  Bank, 
gold  reserve  of,  263 

London,  chilled  and  frozen  meat 
and,  126 

Lumber  tracks  of  Posados,  243 

Mackie,  Mr.,  on  Pan-American 
railway  scheme,  277 

Maize,  Argentina's  production 
of,  191 

Manufactures,  inability  to  de- 
velop, 83 

Manufacturing  resources,  pos- 


sible development  of,  257  ei 
seq. 

Mar  del  Plata,  53  ;  life  at, 
235  ;  Great  Southern  Railway 
and,  151 

Mares,  distaste  for,  and  slaugh- 
ter of,  119 

Martinetta,  the,  245 

Matacos  Indians,  266 

Meat  extracts,  trade  in,  129 

Meat  trade  and  U.S.A.,  23,  68 

Mendoza,  Viticulture  College 
at,  57,  58,  80  ;  the  railway 
and,  147  ;  situation  and  popu- 
lation of,  199  ;  life  in,  200-1  ; 
earthquakes  in,  201  ;  Western 
Park  at,  202  ;  schools  in,  205  ; 
English  club  in,  212 

Mendoza  Province,  paper  money 
of,  76;  Government  of, 
203  ;  how  strikes  are  dealt 
with  in,  203  ;  taxation  and 
land  in,  204  ;  vineyards  of, 
206  ;  irrigation  in,  208  ;  fruit 
growing  in,  211 

Mendoza  River,  147,  208,  214, 
217,  222 

Mercedes,  146 

Mexico  and  cattle,  4 

Military  service,  compulsory 
system  of,  81 

Millionaires,  proportion  to 
population  of,  64 

Mocayr,  Seizor  Pedro,  and 
U.S.A.  influence,  275 

Money-lenders,  licences  for,  82 

Monroe  Doctrine  and  Argen- 
tina, 272,  273,  274,  275 

Monte  Video,  19 ;  the  River 
Plate  at,  90  ;  and  jerked  beef 
trade,  128 

Mutton,  value  of  cxportations 
of,  67  ;   prejudice  against,  98 


28S 


INDEX 


National  Bank  of  Argentina, 
gold  reserve  of,  266 

National  flag,  64 

National  Ministry  of  Educa- 
tion, 78 

National  Railway  Board,  in- 
fluence of,  49,  50 

National  School  of  Commerce,79 

National  School  of  Pilots,  80 

Nationalisation,  Law  of,  24, 
63,-77 

Neuqu^n  territory,  irrigation 
works  in,  150 

"Norther,"  The,  103 

NouGES  Bros.,  sugar  mills  of,  252 

Observatory  at  Cordoba,  165 
OoiLviE,  Mr.  C.  P.,  on  alfalfa, 

194-7 
Oil  for  fuel,  83,  243 

Page,  Mr.,  and  financial  control 
of  South  American  Republics, 
274 

"  Palace  of  Gold,  The,"  37 

Palermo,  fashionable  life  in, 
27  ;    races  at,  28 

Pampa,  dreariness  of  the,  89 ; 
extent  and  possibilities  of, 
181-2 

Pamperos,  the,  91 

Parana  River,  90  ;  wharves  on, 
at  Rosario,  154  ;  lumber  on, 
243;  highway  of  Santa  F&, 
265-6 

Parana,  town  of,  268 

Parque  Independencia,  at  Ro- 
sario, 156 

Patagonia,  wilderness  of,  89  ; 
as  sheep-rearing  country,  183  ; 
stature  of  natives  of,  245-6  ; 
pastures  of,  246 

Peabson,  Mr.  C.  H.,  and  Central 


Argentine  Railway,  141,  142, 
143 
Pellegrini  Law,  the,  and  gold 

reserve,  263 
Pernambuco,  2,  10 
Peru,  rubber  in,  4 
Peso,  the,  236 
Petroleum   zone.   Government 

reservation   on,  243 
Pilots,  National  School  of,  80 
Plate,  River,   19 ;  volume  of, 
90 ;  reclamation  of  land  from, 
146 ;    silting  of,  155,  176 
Plaza  Jewell,  Rosario,  156 
Plaza  Mayo,  "  B.A.,"  26,  27 
Plaza  San  Lopez,  Rosario,  156 
Plaza  San  Martin,  Rosario,  156 
Population,      call     for,      53 ; 

growth  of,  63 
Posad  OS,  lumber  trade  of,  243 
Port     Madryn,    Welsh    colony 

at,  225 
Portugal  and  frozen  meat,  127 
Poverty,  non-existence  of,  35 
President,    qualifications    and 

powers  of,  72-3 
Property,  State  regulations  on 

disposal  of,  76 
Provincial  Council  of  Educa- 
tion, 79 
Provincial  Governments,  "pow- 
ers of,  75  ;   relations  of,  with 
Central  Government,  76 
Puerta  del  Inca,  219 
Puerta  Gal  van,  179 

Quebracho,  the,  92 

Railways,  luxuriance  of  trains 
on,  36,  44,  134-5  ;  influence 
on  prosperity  of,  43  ;  British 
capital  in,  43,  134  ;  mileage 
of,  45  ;  State  lines,  45  ;  limi- 
tations of  dividends  of,  45  ; 


INDEX 


289 


landowners  and,  47  ;  govern- 
ment and  direction  of,  48 ; 
profits  of,  for  roadmaking,  49 ; 
and  mail  carrying,  49  ;  equip- 
ment of,  49  ;  causes  of  profits 
of,  134  ;  "  special  cars  "  on, 
135,  166-7,  213  ;  carriage  of 
agricultural  produce,  137 ; 
growth  of,  138;  William 
Wheelwright    as  founder  of, 

138  ;  United  States  and,  139  ; 
Thomas  Brassey  and,  139 ; 
dividends    and    prospects    of, 

139  ;  growth  of  the  Central 
Argentine,  141-5  ;  growth  and 
prospects  of  the  Buenos  Aires 
and  Pacific,  140,  145-150  ; 
growth  and  prospects  of  Great 
Southern  Line,  150-2  ;  "  Far- 
quhar  Group,"  152  ;  amalga- 
mation of,  153 ;  at  Bahia 
Blanca,  178 ;  Transandine, 
213 ;  influence  on  possible 
manufacturing  developments, 
260 ;  and  development  of  Santa 
F6,  265  ;  American  scheme  in 
connection  with,  277 

Ranch,  life  on  the,  103-8,  230-1 

Recoleta,  36 

"  Regional  Schools,"  6 

Religion,  indifference  to  29-30, 
77 

Retiro  Station,  Buenos  Aires, 
142,  143 

Revolution  of  1810,  64,  99; 
memorials  of,  at  Tucuman,  249 

RiDEAL,  Prof.,  on  frozen  meat, 
126 

Rio  Blanco,  217 

Rio  Cuarto,  and  Central  Argen- 
tine Railway,  144 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  Harbour  of, 
13  ;  the  city,  16 


Rio  Negro  Valley,  irrigation 
work  in,  150 

Rio  Neuqu6n  Valley,  Irrigation 
works  in,  150 

Roadmaking,  railway  profits 
taxed  for,  49 

Roads,  bad  condition  of,  48, 
106,  170,  226 

RosARio,  land  values  in,  64, 
157  ;  grain  elevators  at,  70  ; 
"  The  Liverpool  of  Argen- 
tina," 141  ;  railway  works  at, 
143,  156  ;  as  business  centre, 
154 ;  labour  question  at,  154-5 ; 
growth  of,  155  ;  life  at,  156-7 

RosARio-CoRDOBA  Railway,  141; 
concession  of  land  for,  46 

Royal  Mail  Company,  53 

Russia  and  wheat  supply,  186 

Sandstorms,    103 ;     at    Bahia 

Blanca,  177 
San  Juan,   fruit  culture  school 

at,  60  ;    School  of  Mines  at, 

80  ;  progress  of,  204 
San  Luis,  147 
San    Martin,     statues    of,    37, 

160-1 
San  Pablo,  sugar  mills  at,  252 
San  Rafael,  progress  of,  205 
San  Salvador,  1 
Santa    Catalina,    agrarian    and 

veterinary  school  at,  80 
Santa  Cruz,  dreariness  of,  246 
Santa  F6  Province,  cattle  rais- 
ing in,  130  ;   development  of, 

265 
Santos,  17,  18 
Savoy  Hotel,  Tucuman,  250 
Scholarships,    at    Agricultural 

Schools,    58;    for    European 

study,  81 
School  of  Mines,  San  Juan,  80 


290 


INDEX 


Schools,  religious  Instruction 
in,  77  J  primary,  for  adults, 
77 ;  secondary,  78 ;  equip- 
ment of,  79  ;  attendance  at, 
79,  81  ;  technical  and  com- 
mercial, 79  ;  physical  drill  in, 
80  ;  in  Mendoza,  205 

Senate,  the,  constitution  of,  73 

Senator,  qualifications  of,  73 ; 
salary  of,  74 

Servant  problem,  108 

Sheep,  development  of  local 
characteristics  in,  94  ;  intro- 
duction of,  117  ;  increase  of, 
123  ;  precautions  against  dis- 
ease in,  130 ;  for  freezing 
works,  130  ;  on  the  pampas, 
232 

Sheep-breedinq,  decline  of, 
67 

Sheep  market  in  Buenos  Aires, 
130 

Sheep-rearing,  drawbacks  and 
possibilities  of,  182  -3 

Shoe  factories,  84 

Sierra  de  Cordoba,  158 

Siesta,  abandonment  of,  40 

Small-holding,  difficult  of  se- 
curing, 225 

Socialists,  cohesion  of,  75 

South  America,  possibilities  of, 
4 

Spain,  and  Argentina,  98-9, 116 ; 
and  frozen  meat,  133 

Spaniards,  and  early  colonisa- 
tion of  Argentina,  94,  116 

Spanish,  necessity  for  use  of  in 
commerce,  87,  110-12;  firm 
hold  of,  271 

"  SpEaAL  Cars "  on  railways, 
135,  166-7,  213 

Sports,  Argentine's  adoption  of, 
271 


Stevens,  Mr.,  and  Puerta  Gal- 
van,  179 

Storekeeper,  as  "  middleman," 
55 

Strangers'  Club,  Rosario,  157 

Stucco,  use  of,  in  "B.A.,"  30,36 

"  SuESTADAs,"  the,  91 

Sugar  industry,  school  for  in- 
struction in,  58-9 

Sugar  growing,  at  Tucuman, 
250  ;  possibilities  of  develop- 
ment of,  253-5,  262 

Switzerland  and  frozen  meat, 
127,  133 

Sydney  Harbour  compared 
with  Rio,  14 

Tango,  the,  235 

Tariff  on  sugar,  255 

Tariffs       on       manufactured 

articles,  82-3 
Taxation,  methods  of,  82-3 
Technical  education,  attention 

to,  79 
Textile  industries,  possibilities 

of,  262 
"  The  Argentine  as  a  Market," 

by  N.  L.  Watson,  255 
"  The  Naturalist  in  La  Plata," 

by  W.  H.  Hudson,  93 
Tigre,  the,  boating  on,  27 
ToBAS  Indians,  266 
ToTALisATOR,  usc  of,  at  Palcrmo 

28 
Tower,  Sir  Reginald,  98,  278 
Trade,    British    and    German 

metliods  of,  compared,  85-6 
Trade  Unions  and  Government, 

84 
Transandine     Railway,     147 ; 

Summit  tunnel  of,  148 
Tucuman,    43,    49 ;     arboricul- 

tural  school  at,  58,  59 ;   and 


INDEX 


291 


Central  Argentine  Railway, 
144  ;  aspect  of,  248  ;  historic 
house  at,  249  ;  life  in,  249-50  ; 
sugar  harvest  at,  250  ;  devel- 
opment of  sugar  industry  at, 
251-6 
TuNUYAN  River,  147 

Underground  Railway  of  Bue- 
nos Aires,  27 

United  Kingdom  and  Argentine 
cereals,  67 

United  States  and  Argentine 
development,  7,  22,  64  ;  and 
Argentine  Railways,  139  ;  in- 
fluence in  Argentina  of,  271, 
272,  275  ;  wheat  supply  of, 
.      186 

Universities,  qualifications  for 
and  localities  of,  78 

University  lectures  in  agricul- 
ture, 57 

Uruguay  and  Argentine  cattle, 
128 

UspALLATA  Valley  route,  147 

Valparaiso,  railway  connec- 
tion between  Buenos  Aires 
and,  146-7 

Victoria  "Wool  Market,  Bahia 
Blanca,  180 

Villa  Maria  Rufino  Railway 
absorbed  by  the  Buenos  Aires 
and  Pacific,  145 

Vineyards  of  Mendoza,  199, 206 

Viticulture,  college  at  Men- 
doza for,  57-8,  80 

"  Watch  Bird,  The,"  92 
Water    supply  on  the  pampa, 
233 


Water-wheels,  American,  44 

Watson,  Mr.  N.  L.,  "  The 
Argentine  as  a  Marlcet,"  255 

Wheat,  the  Jews  and,  23,  55  ; 
influence  of  railways  on  ex- 
portation of,  43,  51  ;  average 
yield  of,  70  ;  world's  supply 
of,  186 ;  Argentina  and, 
190-2 ;  the  world's  produc- 
tion compared  with  Argen- 
tina's, 193 

Wheelwright,  William,  and 
foundation  of  Argentine  Rail- 
ways, 138 

Welsh  Colony  at  Chubut,  225  ; 
at  Port  Madryn,   225,  241 

Western  Railway  of  Buenos 
Aires,  returns  of,  140 

Wilson,  President  Woodrow, 
and  South  American  Repub- 
lics, 273-6 

Windmills  for  pumping  pur- 
poses, 233 

Wine,  production  of,  in  Men- 
doza, 206-11 

Woman,  position  of,  in  Argen- 
tina, 28,  29,  33-51 

Wool,  low  quality  of  Argentine, 
183-5  ;  prospects  of  improve- 
ment of,  184-5 ;  values  of 
exportation  and  importation 
of,  262 

Woollen     industry,    possibili- 

■  ties  of,  259 

Woollen  manufactures,  crude- 
ness  of,  84 

Ypecaha,  the,  93 

Zanjou  Amarillo,  218 
"  ZoNDA,"  the,  91 


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